Strawberry Summer
by QueenOfTheDream
Summary: 1886 Colorado. Kagome lives with her family on a ranch that has seen better days. When a stranger to town rides onto the frontier and into her backyard, her prospects brighten despite the improper and unfamiliar nature of her feelings. Dust, fur, and maybe a few sparks fly when the rancher's daughter and the rough and tumble cowboy explore friendship and forbidden territories. AU
1. Chapter 1

April 11, 1886

Kagome drew the dark green shawl tighter around her shoulders as a cool, rainy April breeze pushed through her wool dress, causing her to shiver. Her shoes clapped upon the wood floor of the porch as she went to sit in Grandpa's old, worn rocking chair. As she sat down, her Sunday best dress rustled around her ankles, and she focused her gaze in front of her. Beyond the white fenced boundary of her family's property and on the other side of the uneven dirt road lay acres and acres of wheat fields stretching as far as the eye could see. Contrary to the literal wide open space surrounding her, Kagome felt trapped. Each day that passed by seemed to grip her a little tighter like a vise. Or a noose…

She was snapped out of her gloom when the front door to her right opened and none other than her unwitting captor walked out of her home. She plastered a smile on her face as the young man tipped his hat. The chair squeaked and groaned with the rocking motion, and she fought the urge to wince.

"Good day to you, Kagome. I'll look forward to seeing you next Sunday at Mass."

"Of course, Mr. Hopkins." She almost hoped her smile was convincing. A quick look at his face confirmed that he was tickled pink at her insinuation of looking forward to seeing him.

"Miss Kagome," he said warmly, walking toward her, "how many times must I tell you? Please call me Joseph." He lifted her right hand from the chair's armrest and kissed her cold fingers lightly. She smiled stiffly, and his big, boyish eyes crinkled in response. "Until next week, Kagome," he murmured, and then he jauntily walked down the stairs and over to where his horse was tied to the fence. She became fascinated with the lace trim at the edge of her shawl as he mounted the horse and trotted by the porch before turning to the road and galloping away. She let out a sigh of relief once he was out of earshot.

Her hopes were again sunk when she saw the door open once more, this time with her lanky younger brother exiting the home. "You know, you really should make an effort with Joe, Kagome. He really loves you, and he's offering you an opportunity at security, happiness, and a future. Why don't you accept his suit?" he asked, his voice cracking intermittently. He rolled his dark eyes as Kagome's face puckered.

"He doesn't love me, Sota. He's infatuated, and that's that. The boy wouldn't know the earth from the sky if he wasn't firmly attached to one." She tilted her head haughtily. Even thinking about dealing with the antics of Joseph Hopkins on a daily basis was enough to make her feel vexed. Sure, he was one of the nicest boys on God's green earth, but he was also an idiot with a sense of humor comparable to a tree stump. Of course, Mama made it plenty obvious that he was the best she could do with her distant Ute heritage. Indian blood wasn't exactly a commodity.

"But," Sota interjected, "his family is successful, and he's in line to inherit the farm and the money once old Mr. Hopkins passes. It's worth it if you ask me." Sota casually leaned up against the wall, one eyebrow raised as he nodded toward the ever-present Hopkins family wheat fields that lined the eastern horizon. The balmy wind rustled the tops of the winter wheat.

Kagome fought the urge to sigh in exasperation, and she stiffly stood up from the chair, brushing imaginary dust from her skirt. "Well, luck would have it that I didn't ask. You are still a child, and I will not be lectured at by the likes of you." She stuck her nose up at him, but quickly realized that his eyebrows had drawn together as he stood up straight, looking over her shoulder at the north end of the road.

"Someone's coming," he stated, and Kagome turned around.

"Well, go get Mama," she muttered as her own eyebrows knitted. The figure and the large bay horse trotting down the road belonged to nobody she or her family knew.

"Go inside and get her, Kagome," Sota gravely stated. "You're a girl, and girls don't greet strange men. Go get Mama." She reluctantly turned and opened the door. She found her mother in the kitchen working at a needlepoint.

"Mama," Kagome carefully interjected, gently rousing her mother from the daydreams she sometimes slipped into while embroidering. "There's someone coming down to the house. Sota and I aren't sure who it is…" she trailed off as her mother looked up with a slight concerned frown marring her features. The matron got up with a fluttering of her skirts and set the embroidery upon one of the end tables in the dining room before bustling out the front door.

Kagome, in turn, peeked around the wooden frame of the door to catch a glimpse at this mysterious stranger. She peered down into the yard and saw Mama, Sota, and the stable master, Michael, speaking animatedly to a tall, wiry man. His back was to her, but she could see that he held himself straight, and judging by her mother's open posture and body language, his manners did not seem to be lacking. He towered over Mama and the pubescent Sota, and appeared to be even taller in stature than Michael, who stood just over five inches taller than herself.

She saw Sota look up and raise one eyebrow meaningfully at her, and she retreated back inside, radiating embarrassment from being caught doing something as childish as spying. Just as she sat in the kitchen to begin peeling potatoes for supper, her mother reentered, and her forehead crinkled in thought. Kagome peered up at her, waiting for an explanation.

"Oh," she finally spoke after a lengthy silence, as if just realizing Kagome was there. "We've taken on a new employee. We'll have to keep him up in the loft of the tack shed, so I'll need you to round up some bed clothes and find the cat. Heaven forbid we have mice while keeping a guest!"

Kagome stood, her heavy skirts falling around her ankles. "We've found somebody?" The ranch over the past few years had been sorely lacking in help. Since their land was on the very edge of the range, the cowboys and stable hands that did come around opted for the more steady pay that the railroads and big cattle companies offered. Denver sucked up any prospective business that would have otherwise trickled down to The Springs and its surrounding farms.

Her mother shrugged. "It seems that he found us. If this isn't divine providence, then I don't know what is," she declared with a smile as she sat to resume the peeling that Kagome had started.

Kagome slipped up the stairs past Michael and Sota as they went up to get a spare mattress to haul out to the tack shed. Kagome almost felt sorry for the stranger, being that he had to essentially sleep outside without the general warmth of a house or fireplace. Thankfully, summer was right around the corner, and the nights would soon lose the biting edge they held in the winter and early spring.

She quickly plodded down the stairs with full arms after rummaging in the linen closet, and she walked out the front door. However, as she turned around from pulling the door shut, she found herself running face-first into something hard. The jolt caused her to squeak and drop the bed clothes in surprise. She looked up, hair askew and mouth agape and saw that the object with which she had collided was none other than the flannel-clad torso of the new employee. Her face promptly flushed with humiliation, and her hands came up to hover near her collarbone.

"I am so sorry! I'll go and retrieve some new, fresh sheets for you right away, sir," she gushed. As she went to bend down, she felt long, hard fingers gently grab her forearm, and her head flew up as she sharply inhaled in surprise.

"That won't be necessary, miss," the stranger soothed with the ghost of a smirk dancing upon his thin lips. She saw short, dark hair peeking out from beneath the brim of his cowboy hat, and his blue-grey eyes danced with suppressed laughter at her embarrassment. He looked down his slightly hawkish nose at her as she grew redder in the face in consternation.

"W-well…" she stammered as he bent down, nearly burying his face in her skirts to pick up the dropped linens. He tucked them under one arm as she slipped a stray curl behind her ear. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, and she could see the corded muscles of his forearms flex.

"Thank you kindly, miss," he drawled as he tipped his brown hat over his forehead. Without saying another word, he turned and walked down the porch steps, leaving Kagome confused, thoroughly embarrassed, and slightly intrigued. Of all of the first impressions to make, her subconscious apparently decided this one was the best.

To her relief, the stranger was out of sight for the rest of the day. At six-thirty, she started bringing food out of the kitchen for supper as her mother set the table. She was bringing the last dish out into the dining room when, looking up to see everyone seated at the table, she saw a familiar face. She almost dropped the crock of mashed potatoes when she locked eyes with the new employee. His dark eyebrows barely twitched, and he gave a polite smile.

Thankfully taking the look on Kagome's face for confusion rather than the mortification she truly felt, Mama chirped, "Mr. Allen, this is my daughter. Kagome, dear, this is the new employee I was telling you about. I trust you were able to provide him with fresh linens," she said as she unfolded her napkin upon her lap. Kagome simply nodded like an imbecile as she placed the pot upon the table and took her seat. She thanked every angel she knew of that her place was not next to the newcomer; otherwise she would have simply died of embarrassment.

"Ah. Koga Allen. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss," he drawled smoothly, and he gave her a polite grin. She thanked the heavens above that he paid her the courtesy of sparing her the reliving of their first encounter. She let her mouth stretch into a small relieved smile.

After Mama said a quick grace, the forks were picked up, and conversation commenced. The new employee seemed to be the topic of interest.

"Tell us about yourself, Mr. Allen," Mama cheerfully requested before biting into a slice of buttered bread.

"Well," he began, having the decency to be bashful, "there isn't much to say, Mrs. Walker. I was born in Philadelphia; I've bounced around from place to place ever since. When my father passed, I set out on my own, mostly working on farms and ranches and the like." He paused to take a drink. "It's not my intention to boast, but I can tame just about any horse you set in front o' me, so I figure I'll fit in right well here. There's nothing really compares to flying across the hills on a spirited stallion."

Gramps mashed on his food noisily before setting his fork down upon the table with a rattling "clang." "You got some Injun in you, boy? They've got a way with horses, you know." He nodded sagely.

"Father! I'm so sorry about that, Mr. Allen," Mama apologized, and Sota's eyebrows flew up at Gramps's breach in etiquette.

"No harm done, ma'am. My mother was Yankton, so I reckon that'd make me half Indian, sir. However, you can be sure that I was raised in civilized society." Sota was staring unabashedly at Koga. He was an avid reader of dime novels and was no doubt imposing the strapping man before him in the place of the wild Crazy Horse or Tecumseh, brandishing a tomahawk and riding down Conestoga wagons over the grassy plains.

"How fascinating," Mama murmured as she dabbed her mouth with her napkin. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to stay on until the autumn? We could use an extra hand around the ranch. Free room and board would of course be included, along with pay at the end of your term," she offered.

"I'd be mighty obliged, ma'am, if you'd allow me to stay on here." Kagome found that her heart did a strange, floppy jump when he accepted her mother's proposition.

As the meal wound down, Mama reached over to wipe Grandpa's face. "Sota, could you scrape up the leftovers and go feed the pigs?" Sota stood and took the serving platters to the kitchen before disappearing to retrieve the slop bucket.

"Kagome," Mama continued as she began stacking the dirty plates, "I'll take care of the dishes tonight if you go round up the horses. It looks like it might rain again tonight."

Kagome immediately excused herself and ran upstairs to change into her riding skirt and one of her work blouses before swiftly walking out to the stable to saddle her grey Andalusian gelding. After leading him out of the stable, Kagome steered the horse to the gate next to the holding pen and unlatched it. As she turned to lead her horse through, she saw, illuminated by the orange rays of the setting sun, Koga riding toward her on his bay Thoroughbred. He had not replaced his hat after removing it for dinner, allowing the wind to tousle the short, dark brown locks.

"Mind if I tag along, miss?" He looked her up and down, clearly appraising the split riding skirt that still scandalized some onlookers of polite society. She found herself strangely intrigued and worried what he might think of such improper attire on a young lady such as herself.

Kagome shrugged and beckoned him to come forward before shutting the gate and mounting her horse.

"C'mon, Rosie," she clipped as she lightly tapped the horse's sides. Koga's horse trotted alongside hers over the pasture land.

"…Rosie? Pardon if I'm mistaken, but I believe your horse is a gelding."

Kagome chuckled. "You'd be correct. My father bought this horse for me just before he died. I remember I plucked every flower from my mother's prized white rose bushes and wove them in his mane before declaring his name to be Rose." She could hear Koga snickering to her left, and her cheeks lifted in a grin.

"Mama was furious that I ruined her flowers." She shook her head as her smile grew. "I don't think I really understood that the horse was a boy until some time later." Koga guffawed next to her, bringing a genuine giggle from her lips.

The pair came upon a copse of trees along the edge of the pasture. "The horses usually stick around the grove this time of evening. Show me what you've got, Mr. Allen," she playfully taunted, looking over at his face. With a lilting grin, she noted with silent astonishment that the red light the setting sun cast made his dark brown hair appear as black splotched with blood red where the light shone through the waving strands .

He spurred his horse forward and easily rounded up the geldings and mares. Kagome rode ahead and opened the large stable doors just as Koga herded them into the chute with surprising swiftness. He helped her lead the horses into the empty stalls, and when they finally shut the stable doors, the sun was nearly set behind the mountains in the west.

"Let me walk you back to the house, miss," he offered, seeing the darkness quickly descending upon the property.

Kagome's hands flew up as she shook her head frantically.

"No, no, that won't be necessary! It's only a short walk, and you've already done so much today," Kagome plaintively insisted. He shook his head.

"No, I insist. A young lady shouldn't be out by herself at night. I don't imagine your mother would be much pleased to find you all gnawed up by a coyote," he pressed. Kagome clearly had no choice but to accept, and they started toward the front porch.

"You really have a way with the horses," Kagome blurted as she twisted the end of her braid around the end of one finger. "Even Michael has never rounded them all up that quickly."

"Well, many thanks. My father always called it 'animal ken.' That's a bit of his old Scottish speech coming through there," he lightly laughed.

"Oh, you've Scottish background as well?"

He did his best accent, looking straight ahead as the pair reached the front steps. "Och, aye. Would ye like me to imitate his speech for ye, wee lassie?"

Kagome giggled as she climbed the stairs, leaving him standing on the walkway. "Well, thank you for escorting me, Mr. Allen. It's been a pleasure to meet you."

He nodded frankly, and Kagome found herself marveling at the breath of fresh air he had already blown into the ranch in the four hours he'd been there. "If it please you, you can call me Koga. Good evening, miss." With that, he started south toward the tack shed. The moment she turned to walk through the front door, she heard him call over his shoulder, "Many thanks for bringing the sheets. Don't worry, neither they nor my shirt were soiled in the process." Her face went hot and undoubtedly beet-red despite the teasing note that his dimming voice carried. She leaned backward, noticing how straight he held his broad shoulders as he strode away. It hadn't occurred to her that she might be staring until she heard Sota clear his throat behind her, causing her to startle and whirl around to face him.

"Don't scare me like that," she admonished. "You nearly made me jump outta my skin!" Despite her pitiful attempt at diverting his attention, she could tell by the look on her younger brother's face that she had been caught dead in the act of staring like a shameless trollop. If her racing heartbeat and burning cheeks were any indication, she could tell that the upcoming summer was going to be out of the ordinary in one way or another.


	2. Chapter 2

April 12, 1886

Before dawn the next morning, Kagome awoke as dictated by habit. She quickly stepped into her clothes and pulled her hair back into a bun without opening her eyes three times. After creeping down the creaking steps in the dark, she laced up her boots and stepped outside. In the early morning pre-light, the stars were still visible in the dark blue sky, and the eastern horizon was fading to lavender in the dawn's first blush. The land was awash in blue, and the cold dew on the blades of grass glistened like tiny gems.

She eased the barn door open and slipped inside to fumble with the matches before lighting the small kerosene lamp. The last thing she needed was to accidentally walk into one of the oxen's stalls and attempt to milk the poor bulls. She rubbed her hands together, warming them, before grabbing the pail and rickety stool and heading back to Peaches and her heifer calf, Dorothy. She ran her hands along the cow's side before setting the stool and pail down and getting to work. Sensing that Peaches was in an exceedingly calm mood, she even hazarded to rest her head against the warm flesh to ward off the early morning bite in the air.

After the cow was milked and left to go about her business, Kagome trudged back up to the porch and left the milk pail by the front door where Mama would undoubtedly pick it up in time for breakfast. As she trotted back down the porch stairs, Michael's wife, Josephine, stepped around the side of the house and gave a small grin when she saw Kagome approach. The pale early light deepened the shadows around them and brightened the surfaces it touched.

"Good morning, Miss Walker," Josephine greeted her with a smile crinkling her sun-lined face. Kagome offered her own smile in return. "Where is your younger brother?" Josephine's melodic accented voice practically soothed Kagome into sleep each time she spoke.

"Oh, Sota? He's probably still in bed, the old lazy bones," Kagome replied with false petulance. She and Josephine stopped in front of the barn as the morning light grew brighter, and the sun approached the horizon.

"I need to get eggs, yes?" Josephine's finely arched eyebrows rose as she rolled her eyes. Kagome clapped her hands in front of her in a pleading gesture. She hated going into the foul-smelling chicken coop and avoided it when at all possible

"Please, would you, Josie?" she entreated with a piteous smile. "I'll definitely make it up to you, I promise. Next time we have buttermilk, I'll bring you my glass, okay?"

Josephine laughed and wiped her hands on her hideous green apron sprayed with sprigs of little pink flowers. "You have a deal. I will hold you to your word, miss." As the woman doubled back to head toward the old chicken coop, Kagome walked back to the barn to scatter some hay for the cattle and fill the water troughs.

When she walked in, however, Koga was already spreading the feed in the stalls. As she audibly opened the door and stepped forward on some of the wayward dry straw, he turned and tipped his hat at her. "Good mornin', Miss," he called as he scattered some more feed.

"Hm, good morning, Mr. Allen," she softly replied as she shuffled awkwardly through the barn in search of work.

Seeing her apparent confusion, he called over his shoulder, "You lost, Miss?" A lilting hint of teasing tinged his voice.

"No," she answered coolly and inwardly applauded her sangfroid. "It's usually me who has to feed the stock in the mornings. It seems you've taken my job. Thrown off the whole routine, really." A playful smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Well, it does appear so, doesn't it?" His cheeks lifted in a grin, and his eyes crinkled above high cheekbones that looked so- No! She shook her head and attempted to knock such impure thoughts from her mind. She'd known him less than a full twenty four hours and she was already lusting after him like a strumpet. She felt a blush creep up her neck and thanked the good Lord that it was still dark and shadowy in the barn.

"I do believe the water troughs need filling. The one out in the pasture is nearly empty the last I checked." Kagome resisted the urge to grumble at him peevishly. There was only one well on the property, and it was usually Sota's job to haul water across their land bucket by sloshing bucket.

"Mhmph, you're probably right. Thank you for taking care of the barn work for me. I do appreciate it," she intoned while trying not to be petty. After all, they _were_ now ahead of schedule for the morning. She bent to scoop up the two water buckets and headed toward the well. "Sota, I am going to throttle you when I find you," she muttered under her breath, and she swore she could hear deep chuckling behind her.

Upon reaching the well, she grabbed the handle and began pumping as the red disk of the sun finally peeked over the horizon. Of course the trough in the pasture was on the other side of the property, so she rolled up her sleeves, grabbed the two buckets, and set to trudging. Back and forth she walked before the rising sun, sloshing the water into the metal troughs before returning to repeat the motion. The hem of her skirts soaked up the dew from the grass, which in turn dampened her stockings.

Three trips to the well later, Sota was still yet to be seen. The sun was up, and the animals were all waking and beginning their days. Kagome's arms were aching as she swung the empty buckets, and the troughs were nowhere near full. She was going to miss breakfast if something didn't give.

Then, like a godsend, Koga stepped out of the barn as she walked past it to the well. He had two additional pails in hand and fell in step behind her.

"I filled the troughs in the barn, an' it looks like the chickens don't need any," he stated, and he sped up to walk alongside the young woman.

"Hm. Thank you," Kagome murmured, honestly thankful that he had spared her the additional work. "How do you know your way around here so quickly? Did you sleep at all?" She shyly raised one skeptical eyebrow in jest.

"Well, most farmers and ranchers have a pretty similar setup. I have yet to come upon a farm where the people sleep in the coop and the chicken live the high life on the estate, so it wasn't quite a mystery," he drawled as the well came into sight, and a giggle fell from Kagome's lips.

"I suppose you're right. Thank you, though. Really. I would have missed breakfast at this rate without your help," she grunted as she pumped the water into her buckets.

"You don't have to thank me, y'know. It's my job now, remember?"

A lurching shrug was her reply as she adjusted her grip on the two heavy pails before starting toward the trough. The sun was up and shining and the dew in the grass began evaporating into sticky humidity.

By 8'o'clock, the water trough in the pasture was filled, and the farm was coming to life. Horses were nickering, and the hens were pecking around the ground while the cat hungrily watched. A steady pattering echoed across the property, and as Kagome and Koga drew nearer to the house, they saw Sota perched on the top of the small cabin shared by Michael and his wife, Josephine. He squinted down at them before turning back to the job at hand: hammering at the roof.

As the duo mounted the front porch steps, the smell of frying eggs wafted through the kitchen window, and Kagome's mouth watered. "I hope you don't mind me sayin' so," Koga began as he pulled open the front door, "but you've a mighty fine face for an Indian girl." Kagome paused in the doorway and spun around. Her face was a mask of irritation and outrage. He quickly backtracked. "Er, what I meant to say is that to an untrained eye, people wouldn't guess that you're an Indian unless they knew what to look for. You could easily pass as an average white girl."

Kagome stuttered. "I-I'm not Indian, thanks very much. I'd appreciate it if you didn't insinuate otherwise, sir." Her heart hammered in her chest. How did he know of her distant heritage? How obvious was it to other people if this stranger had already guessed it?

Koga held the door open. "Now, I meant no disrespect, Miss. You remember that I'm part redskin myself, so I know one when I see one." Her face fell into a frown, and Koga raised his eyebrows expectantly. Kagome sputtered as she quickly stepped into the house after realizing she was lingering in the doorway like a simpleton.

"Wash up, breakfast is almost ready," Mama called from the kitchen. Kagome bustled through the house to the small wash basin and scrubbed her hands and face. A thorough cleaning later, the family was sitting around the kitchen table. Sota, who had been repairing a hole in Michael and Josephine's roof, was eagerly gulping down the hearty breakfast. Kagome also ate quickly before filling her mug with some fresh buttermilk and bustling out the door. She hurried across the yard to Michael's cabin, and she briefly knocked before entering with a smile.

Around the small wooden table were gathered Michael, Josephine, and Koga. They were eating their morning meal of pork and navy beans in relative silence. Josephine looked over to the door, and her face curved in a kind smile when she saw Kagome standing meekly in the doorway, dripping cup of buttermilk in hand.

Kagome, however, felt a strange strangling sensation in her gut when she saw Koga sitting at the table without his hat, his short, dark hair shining in the sunlight that filtered through the small cabin window. She felt like a cornered animal, except in place of fear, there sat a queer feeling of excitement, or maybe it was anticipation. He was a stranger, and part Indian at that, but her heart fluttered at the prospect of his attentions. It was most curious indeed, and she felt a mix of giddiness and shame at the nature of the feelings she harbored.

Eager to end the interaction and prevent herself from starting to babble like an idiot, she darted forward and set the cup on the table. The quick motion, however, sent buttermilk sloshing onto the checkered tablecloth and onto Koga's right knee. Michael, the stable hand, stared at her, apparently impressed at how clumsy and awkward she could manage to be in such a short period. She felt her face flush as she snatched her hands back in embarrassment. Koga wiped at his knee with a good-natured laugh while Josephine bustled off to find a rag to clean the tablecloth. Face aflame, Kagome fled back out the door after blurting out an apology. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't quite figure out why, feelings of mortification aside. She pressed her back against the wooden exterior and sighed.

On the horizon, however, a shape loomed. Someone on horseback was riding toward the house, and as the figure drew closer, Kagome realized that it was her dreaded suitor, Joseph Hopkins. He was no doubt on a social call so he can stare unabashedly at her, same as every other occasion. She heaved herself off of the wall and groaned as she started for the front porch to intercept Mr. Hopkins before he encountered her mother. The last thing she needed was her mother poking, wheedling, and scheming to marry her to the boy.

"Good morning, Miss Kagome," he called from atop his horse while pulling his hat off. He stopped in front of the porch and dismounted, carrying a large burlap sack in his hand. He was always bringing fairly suspect "home remedies" over, and part of her wondered if he was seriously considering winning her over with the use of pharmaceuticals. If so, he was even more clueless than she had given him credit for.

"Good morning, Mr. Hopkins. What brings you up here? We weren't expecting you until Sunday for Mass."

"Please, Miss Kagome. How many times must I beg you; call me Joseph. I think we're past such proprieties." He flashed a smile, and she lifted her face in what she hoped was a grin rather than a grimace. "And I brought over some preserved tomatoes and a fresh jar of turpentine for your grandfather's arthritis." He held out the bag, and Kagome took it with a nod. "I'd heard your stable hand, errr," he trailed off.

"Michael," she supplied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Ah, yes. Michael! Well, last week I heard him saying that that late frost nabbed most of your tomato plants, and we still had a few jars from last year, so I thought I'd bring one over." He ran his hands down his jacket, smoothing out invisible wrinkles, and Kagome felt a little pang of guilt. He always tried so hard.

"Thank you kindly, er, Joseph." She hoped she didn't cringe at the strange feeling his name left in her mouth. He beamed like a kid given a jar of candies. "I'll make sure these get to my mother," she trailed off, and he continued to stand and stare. Therefore, she too was obliged to stand stupidly in front of the porch toeing the dirt as he stuffed his hands in and out of his pockets.

Just when she thought she couldn't take it any longer, she felt a small touch on the back of her shoulder. She jumped and turned, nearly twisting her head off to see her assailant. It was Koga standing as cool as a cucumber.

"Your mother asked me to retrieve you, Miss Walker. Something about your grandfather's gout," he said. Kagome gave him a questioning gaze, but his face remained still. Her grandfather may be the most cranky, disease-prone old man this side of the Mississippi, but the one thing he didn't have was gout. Yet.

"Gout? I had no idea your grandfather had gout. I think we might have something for that," Hopkins mused.

Kagome nearly groaned. "There's no need, really. Just an occasional flare up here and there is all." It was a total lie, and she felt a tad guilty about it. However, if this farce of a conversation continued any longer, she'd drown herself over in the Sand Creek.

"Ah well. I'd best be going anyway. Have a fine rest of the day, Miss, and give my regards to your family," the chipper young man said as he tipped his hat, to which Kagome gave a small wave. She nearly sang praise to the angels when he remounted his horse and trotted away.

Her shoulders sagged in relief, and she thanked Koga sincerely. He chuckled.

"You looked about as happy as a rattlesnake in a bonnet."

Kagome barked out a laugh, subconsciously readjusting the ribbon to her own bonnet. "He means well. He truly does. And he's probably the most even-tempered and generous soul around here. Trouble is that he's also possibly the most simple, chipper idiot that I've ever had the misfortune of meeting."

"He seemed a nice enough fellow," Koga said with a shrug.

Kagome shook her head. "He hasn't been chasing you and practically begging for your hand in marriage for the past five years, either," she mumbled grimly under her breath before starting for the porch. Mama had already filled the churn with cream and set it by the door for her. Koga left to help Michael clean out the mares' box stalls, and Kagome grabbed the churn and lugged it to the back of the house. Sometimes, she enjoyed looking at the mountains to the west when doing mind-numbing work like churning. After finding the flat spot near the scraggly dead blackberry bush, she wrapped her fingers around the wooden plunger and got down to the time-consuming task of churning butter.

Her arms moved rhythmically, and she allowed her mind to wander as she stared off past the white fence and into the growing stalks of their small fields of alfalfa and grass. The thin leaves bent under a brisk wind, and Kagome could see grey rain clouds rolling over Pikes Peak in the distance. When the wind picked up half an hour later, she moved the churn inside. Though generally short-lived, mountain storms often hit hard with driving gusts of wind and pelting rain that fell in a deluge. Sure enough, rain was pinging off the window within a few minutes. The house grew dark as the storm clouds passed overhead and soaked the land, and a few rumbles of thunder rolled across the sky.

By the time she drained the buttermilk from the top of the freshly churned butter, the storm had passed and the sky had lightened. Mama took the butter to wash, and Kagome turned to her next chore: tending to her growing strawberry patch. She walked around the back of the house to the small fenced-in area and began picking the rain-soaked weeds from between the strawberry plants. They were coming in nicely, much to her pleasure. As she began tossing the weeds she'd gathered into the chicken pen, she saw Koga rolling the wheelbarrow across the property.

It wasn't until a chicken hopped up and pecked at her limp fingers, causing the handful of greens to flutter to the ground, that she realized she'd once again been caught staring. She yelped loudly and jerked her hand back with a petulant scowl at the offending chicken, which was happily munching away at the plants with the other hens. It was while looking around to see if any others had seen her embarrassing mishap that she espied her mother staring at her from the kitchen window with a level, disapproving glare.

Heat flooded her cheeks, and she moved on to the pasture to check on the horses without a second glance at her mother's critical gaze. After all, what was the harm in just looking?


	3. Chapter 3

April 6, 1886

The day previous passed without further incident. The ranch operated as per the usual, its movements perhaps greased by the addition of Koga's efforts. The family retreated to the house for supper, and Koga bade Kagome good night before turning to eat his meal in Josephine and Michael's cabin.

The following morning, however, had a rough start. Kagome awoke at the usual hour to begin her chores and found to her dismay that a fox or some sort of vermin had once again attempted to gnaw and climb through the wire around the chicken yard during the night. This, in turn, caused the hens to all be in an irritated and foul disposition. Josephine was attending to something else, leaving Kagome to try to wrangle eggs out from underneath the smelly, cranky hens.

After gathering the eggs and earning a few stinging scratches to her hands, Kagome headed to the barn to milk Peaches. Pausing outside the door, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If the animals picked up on her sour attitude, they could make things very difficult and in turn, worsen her mood. She lit the lamp, noting that the kerosene was nearly gone, and began putting feed in each of the troughs. She picked up the pail and wooden stool and stepped into Peaches' stall to begin milking.

All was going well until one of the pigs squealed in the still, quiet morning air, which frightened the cow. She only started slightly, but it was enough to kick the bucket over on accident. Kagome reached for it as quickly as she could, but all but about half an inch of milk had been lost on the floor. She closed her eyes, mentally reminding herself that swearing and punching completely innocent barnyard animals was beastly, let alone unladylike. Thus, she finished the milking and exited the barn in a far grouchier mood than she had gone into it with.

The less than full pail was left in its usual spot on the porch, and on the way back to the barn, she saw Sota lugging buckets from the well. At least she didn't have to do his work again. Upon reentering the structure, she found Koga cleaning out the enclosures with the pitchfork.

"G'morning, Miss Walker," he announced cordially without looking up. After all, dropping a heaping pile of manure was a less-than-desired event that excused lack of flawless etiquette.

"Good morning, Mr. Allen," Kagome replied, put in better spirits since the cleaning of the stalls was taken care of. It wasn't the worst job, but if someone was willing to do it for her, she certainly wasn't going to say no.

That left her to instead check on Kitty, their newest mare. Kitty was acquired several months previously in the autumn from an old gambler that needed cash more than a work horse.

Imagine the Walkers' surprise when, a number of months later, they discovered that Kitty was in a rather delicate condition. It seems that they had paid for one horse but were getting two.

The slight-boned horse was munching on some cool, dewy grass near the pasture fence. Kagome approached, squinting as the sun passed behind a block of dark rain clouds approaching from the west. Kitty looked up hesitantly, and Kagome smiled and crooned at the small black mare. She ran her hand along the horse's flank, marveling at how swollen the belly looked. Her rear muscles were loose and relaxed, and a quick crouch revealed to Kagome that the udders were waxed. Within the next few days, hopefully they would have a healthy little foal.

No one knew if she was bred before, so how Kitty would perform during the labor and nursing was anyone's guess. Kagome did harbor some anxiety about the whole thing, since losing a horse was losing an investment and thus losing a potential profit. Still, she reminded herself that the horse was in Michael's good hands. He was in charge of the care of the horses for a reason. The man was practically a horse whisperer, and they had gotten lucky enough to have someone like him working on their ranch.

By the time she reached the front porch again, the sky had let down a soft bout of sprinkling that turned into a steady rain. The inside of the house was shadowy with the lack of sunlight, and Kagome could hear her grandfather grumbling at the kitchen table, waiting for her mother to serve him his breakfast. Kagome took the time to fill everyone's cups with milk before sitting down at her seat. Sota said nothing as their mother handed each person their plate, and the family sat down to a quiet, awkward meal. Tension hung thick in the air. Already testy, Kagome broke the silence.

"Is there something wrong, Mother? Did I not churn the butter long enough yesterday? If so, my apologies." Her mother said nothing, but took a sip of milk and pursed her lips tight. Kagome's eyebrows drew close together.

With a heavy sigh, Kagome put down her fork. "If there's a problem, nothing can be done if nobody knows what it is." Sota cautiously looked over, and their mother's head jerked up.

"A bad attitude never loosened any tongues." Kagome mumbled an apology in response, but was still equal parts curious and worried about what was causing her mother's touchy mood. She didn't have to wait long before her mother pinned her under her gaze.

"You've been tailing that new boy like a… well. Regardless, your behavior as of late has been slovenly. Not only is he hired help, but an Indian at that. Think of what the neighbors would say!"

Kagome practically scoffed. "Well, I'm part Indian, and so is Sota. And you're even more so. Why is it a crime if the young man is as well? What makes him different from us?" Her mother's scowl was withering.

"You are not to conduct yourself improperly with that boy, and that is final. Young Joseph Hopkins is a good choice. He fancies you for a wife, not for a dirty roll in the hay that would ruin you and the family name."

By that point, Sota and Grandfather had both set down their utensils to watch the argument.

"Assuming I was acting inappropriately, which I haven't been, who is to say that Mr. Allen wouldn't want me for a wife as well? You're making assumptions as to the nature of his character, and you don't even know him."

"And neither do you," her mother retorted. Kagome rolled her eyes.

Her mother slammed her hands down on the table; her eyes clenched shut in a rare display of anger. "You know what he is, and he's a stranger on top of that! He would ruin you."

Kagome jumped to her feet, sending her chair skidding backward. "What?! What do you mean, 'what he is?' His blood doesn't make him a criminal any more than yours or mine does."

Her mother sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, but Kagome knew the argument was not over. It was a simply a temporary truce. "I only want you to be happy, Kagome. I want what's best for you, and he is most certainly not what is best for you. Listen to me, please," she said stonily, practically glaring daggers up at her daughter.

Kagome gritted her teeth and pushed her empty plate forward. "Thank you for the breakfast, Mother," she ground out, and then she turned to walk back outside.

She heard her grandfather gripe, "Damned Injuns. Should have wiped out all the filthy little savages when we had the chance. When I was a young man…" She had to remind herself that slamming the door would only make things worse, not to mention probably break the door.

If he thought that Indians were so terrible, why did he allow his son to marry a half-breed woman, who in turn produced his only two grandchildren? Sure, she was far from proud of her heritage, but it wasn't something that she let define her. Of course, that was mostly because very few people actually knew about it. Kagome was fuming, staring angrily at her boots as she charged ahead, when she walked straight into someone.

With a gasp, she stepped aside and saw Koga looking down at her blankly. She issued a brief apology before storming off to continue her daily chores.

The rest of the day had not improved. Walking past the stack of firewood, she spied a rattlesnake slithering among the logs and quickly decapitated it with a shovel. Either it was simply lost, or the property had mice or rats that it was hunting. Whatever the reason was for it being there, it was bad news for both the human and animal denizens of the ranch. She made a mental note to pry the cat out of whatever hole it was hiding in and set it to town just in case they'd gotten mice again.

Later, she was nearly mowed down by the pigs, which had gotten out of their pen. No sooner had she wrestled the two beasts back into the barn did an agonized shout echo across the property.

Michael had somehow managed to trip in the pasture and break his collarbone. While Sota and Josephine fussed about him and took him back to his cabin, Kagome continued her work. His injury just meant that there was that much more work for each of them to divide up. Thankfully the break wasn't bad, but it definitely was enough to put him out of commission for a few days, or until the bone had somewhat stabilized and his pain was under control.

The day remained overcast and grey, and supper was eaten in silence. After feeding the leftovers to the pigs, Kagome headed back to the barn for Peaches' evening milking. No buckets were tipped to Kagome's great relief, and by the time she finished, she was completely exhausted.

She walked to the house as quickly as her feet could take her. Hastily, she washed and braided her hair before changing into a nightgown. Her eyes were closed before her head even hit the pillow.

She was abruptly woken, however, by a hand roughly shaking her shoulder. She unintelligibly grumbled before squinting up in the dark. It was Sota, and he looked terrified.

"Kitty. It's Kitty," he blurted, panting as if he'd run a marathon. "Michael says it's taking too long. Something's wrong with either her or the foal, so get up. Get up! We have to get to the stable right now!" Kagome threw off the covers and padded quickly down the stairs, slipping into her boots and rushing out the door without tying the laces.

There were several lamps lit in the stable, and Michael was perched upon a stool, sitting awkwardly with his arm hanging limp in a makeshift sling. His face was pale and his mouth was set in a grimace of pain, but she was glad of his presence. Kagome bustled past him and into the stall where she saw Koga pushing and pulling two legs sticking out from behind Kitty, earning a groan from the distressed mare. The floor was slicked with fluid, and the atmosphere was tense.

Koga immediately filled her in, and she could tell by his voice that he was tired. "We think the foal's head is stuck or bent back. I'm too big and Michael is out of service." He stepped out of the stall and the horse shifted in discomfort from foot to foot.

"But Sota-"

"He's gone back to the house already." Sure enough, Kagome turned and her brother was nowhere to be seen. "You're the only one who's got a small enough arm." He was panting, looking at her expectantly.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "You don't mean for me to stick my arm-"

"Yup," Koga interrupted as he yanked her right arm, pulling her toward him. He unceremoniously pushed the long sleeve of her wool nightgown up to the shoulder and greased her arm. He then took Kitty's tail and held it aloft.

With his and Michael's guidance, she was able to get her arm in and immediately felt the horse's muscles clamp down hard as a contraction ripped through her body. She let out a cry of alarm, and Kitty shuffled in place, jostling Kagome. She could feel the foal's bony legs pressing against the underside of her forearm.

"Grab a leg and follow it back to the chest," Michael instructed once the muscles relaxed, watching the scene like a hawk. Koga stood next to her, ready to offer assistance.

"Found its chest," she said through clenched teeth. She didn't even want to know what the sleeve and breast of her nightgown looked like.

"Good. Now follow the chest up the neck and to the head. See if the head is facing sideways or if it's even close to the front at all." She prayed the foal wasn't too twisted up because it was taking all of her energy and strength just to push against the horse's natural instincts and muscle movements. She could feel her hair sticking to her sweaty forehead and neck.

The horse clamped down again, and the foal's body lurched forward a bit before settling back in. Kagome set her mouth in a hard line as tears nearly came to her eyes. The contraction ebbed, and she trailed her fingers up until she found what she could only guess was the very edge of the jawline.

"Its head is turned back and to the side I think. I can't reach its face," she panted.

"You'll need to turn it until it's facing the front legs," Michael coached. She tried grabbing the jaw, but her hand kept sliding around the slicked flesh.

"Wait for her to tense again, and when she starts to push, yank the legs forward and get back in there so you can reach the face." As if on cue, the hot muscles bore down, squeezing Kagome's arm so hard she could feel her fingers start to tingle. The horse groaned and started to shuffle until Koga stilled her. Kagome extracted her arm and pulled on the foal's front legs with a grunt, and then hurried back in. She inched her fingers up the chest and neck and was able to find the foal's nostrils. Luckily, it had shifted just enough that she was able to hook her finger inside the corner of its mouth.

"I think I got nngh," she called out as her arm was smashed once more by another vicious contraction of the muscles.

"Fantastic. Here's the hard bit," Michael started. "Koga, roll up her other sleeve. You'll have to keep your grip on its head, but push its body further back with your other hand. This way, it will realign the foal. Then, you'll have to pull on the legs quickly before it suffocates, if it hasn't already. Hopefully, the thing's still alive," Michael instructed. Kagome was gripped by fear as Koga hurriedly pushed her sleeve up and greased her left arm. What if she'd failed to save it in time? What if she'd hurt it? She had to shove those thoughts to the back of her mind as she tried to reposition the foal.

If she wasn't tired before this debacle, she was then. She was surprised how difficult it was to maneuver the foal without her hands slipping everywhere. On top of that, with both arms in the business end of the horse, there was very limited room for movement of her arms. Finally, after much huffing, heaving, groaning, and grunting, she was able to reposition its head facing forwards. She gave a small inner hoorah of victory before grabbing the two front legs and pulling as Kitty began heaving and pushing.

Her hands slipped from the foal's front legs, and she fell backward. She quickly righted herself, however, and Koga stepped behind her and wrapped his large hands along the foal's legs as well. The sturdiness of his chest gave her the leverage she needed, and with a protracted groan, they pulled the foal free. It lay in a mushy heap on the straw even when Koga quickly knelt to make sure it was breathing. She felt panic rise up in her throat as Koga gently pulled her out of the stall. To her relief, however, the foal began stirring. She let out a relieved laugh.

"Let's get cleaned up now, shall we?" Koga offered as Michael stood and sleepily trudged back to his cabin. There was already a bucket full of cold, soapy water and a rag waiting, and Koga quickly wiped his hands free of muck. Kagome sat on the stool and wearily began cleaning the grime from her arms. One look down at her nightclothes told her that the gown either needed several vigorous washes or a toss in the fire. Her back leaned against a wooden beam as she ran the cloth down her arms.

The next thing she knew, something was lightly gripping her shoulder. "Take a look. Everything's turned out all right," Koga murmured. The pair walked quietly back to Kitty's large stall and saw the foal was nursing successfully. A warm smile crept across Kagome's face. She flung her messy braid over her shoulder as she gazed fondly at her handiwork, rubbing her pruny hands together in the chilly night air.

"It's really something, isn't it?" she crooned.

"Sure is," Koga replied, standing at her shoulder. "You were really something back there." She looked away modestly, but he persisted. "No, I mean it. We could have lost them both without your help. You were invaluable, Miss Kagome."

Her face lit up in a sleepy smile, and a warm, tingly sensation spread through her chest. Koga was still holding her loosely by the left elbow. "Let's get you to the house so you can get back to bed, Miss." She nodded, turning to get one last look at the tiny foal before they exited the stable and walked in the dark along the path to the porch.

Koga let go of her elbow, and she mounted the steps before turning to face him. "Thank you, Mr. Allen."

"No, thank you. Now go on up and get back to bed. I'll see you around the yard in the morning."

As Kagome climbed the stairs to her room and peeled off the horrifying nightgown, exhaustion washed over her. She had barely stuck her arms into the other gown before she drifted into a content sleep.

* * *

Note: Just to make one thing clear: I do not condone racism against Native Americans or any other peoples. The use of derogatory slang in this fic was sadly part of the everyday vocabulary in the western United States at the time.


	4. Chapter 4

April 7, 1886

Kagome woke up well past dawn and could smell breakfast cooking downstairs. With a panicked moan, she rushed to tug on her clothes and run her fingers through her hair. She clomped down the stairs while twisting her hair into its customary bun to find that breakfast was leisurely being served. Nobody seemed panicked that half of the morning work hadn't been done. In fact, Grandpa and Sota seemed positively cheery, and Mother almost had a spring in her step.

Kagome approached the table with caution. "Mama, I am so sorry that I overslept. I don't know what came over me. I'll skip breakfast in order to catch up on the work if that would be best." She took her seat next to Sota, who was talking animatedly with Grandpa about Kitty's brand new colt.

"That won't be necessary," her mother said after scooping some scrambled eggs onto Kagome's plate. "The cow has already been milked, and Josephine is already churning the butter. The animals are out to pasture, and the new foal seems to be healthy."

The family dug into their breakfast. Kagome was still suspicious. Was she dreaming? Was she in so much trouble that these were her last few hours of life, and they were making her as comfortable as possible before taking her out back with Papa's rifle? She had stuffed a thick slice of bacon into her mouth when her mother cut into her increasingly dark line of thought.

"Michael told me what you did last night, sneaking out and such." Kagome nearly choked. If she was "sneaking" by thundering down the stairs and flying out the door to the stable, then either everyone in the house was deaf or she was dreaming. Her mother's face was impassive, and Kagome stood up to defend herself against the verbal whipping that was sure to come.

"However, he also told me that you were able to save our newest mare and her foal, even if it was merely by the grace of God." Her mother's face cracked into a slim smile, and Kagome stared wide-eyed. Sota, on the other hand, was enthusiastically shoveling his breakfast into his face with a sly grin appearing between gulps.

"Your grandfather and I figure that although you were out after curfew, you did save us much money, labor, and time by saving that horse. Most of your chores have been done by your brother and the hired help, so if you go out to the coop to collect eggs and find the cat, you can have the day off." Kagome's cheeks lifted with a smile, and her mother gave a small chuckle in return. "You do have to go into town, though. We're getting down to the bottom of our stores."

"Yeah, sure! Oh, thank you, Mama," Kagome cried as her mother started in on her own plate of food. She nodded in acknowledgement, and Kagome tore into her meal, wolfing it down as fast as she was able. Sota sat next to her, watching his sister transform from a civilized farm girl into a ravenous Amazon she-beast in an instant. She excused herself from the table and ruffled his hair, earning a tetchy grumble from the teenager. Though he was only fourteen, she knew it was he who had convinced Mama to let her have the day off both as compensation for doing his share of the work before, as well as for her efforts in assisting Kitty's foaling.

She flew out the door and into the chicken coop, collecting the eggs without so much as a gripe or grouse of malcontent. As fortune would have it, the cat was slinking around the edge of the henhouse. She picked up the cat and jogged her over to the stack of firewood, holding the squirming ball of fur out an arm's length away. She'd told Mama about the rattlesnake the night before at dinner, and it was decided that they'd rather deal with the mice than dead horses or barnyard animals. If the cat took care of the mice, the snakes would have nothing to eat and would be forced to move away in search of food. The cat leapt away from Kagome's arms and skirted around the side of the house with her hackles raised high in offense. As she walked back to the house, Kagome yelled to Sota to haul out the cart and a horse to pull it.

After running the eggs back into the kitchen, she hurried upstairs to change her clothes. An excursion into town was rare, so she prepared for a day in the big city. She pulled on a corset and tied on the bodice and skirts to her green plaid day dress. The collar was a bit too high on her throat for her tastes, and it itched, but it wasn't every day she got to wear her nice clothes. The spring air still had a bit of a nip, so she was glad that the cotton fabric was a bit thick. She rearranged her hair into a neater coif and tied on her nicest hat before pulling on her smartest pair of shoes and spats. With a breathless goodbye, she bustled out the door to see the cart and horse just in front of the porch.

With giddy excitement, she climbed onto the seat of the cart and set the horse going down the road. The sun was shining occasionally between wisps of light clouds, and a slight wind rustled the wheat fields along the road. All in all, things were quiet and peaceful on the road to Colorado Springs. Kagome could fully appreciate the joys of living outside of civilization, but cities drew her like a moth to a flame. The excitement, the hustle and bustle, the flurry of activity: it all fascinated her, and since the first time her father had brought her into Denver as a little girl, she had loved being in the city.

Her peace was broken when she heard galloping coming up the road behind her. She turned in her seat and saw Koga coming up the dirt road astride his bay thoroughbred, kicking up dust as the horse bolted toward the slow-moving cart. He tugged on the reins as he came up alongside her and tipped his hat with a sly smile.

"Well, good morning, Miss. Heading into town?"

"What're you doing out here? Shouldn't you be working?" Her heart sped up, but she beamed at him. The day was lovely, and she had it all to herself for her own enjoyment.

"I think I deserve a day off, too, you know. I was working on that mare long before you arrived," he chuckled. "Any work I have left will get done when I get back, I reckon. What I want to know is why a young lady such as yourself is going into town all by her lonesome, Miss Walker."

"Oh, we're back to 'Miss Walker' now? I do have a first name, and it's Kagome. You'd best remember that," she snipped and stuck her nose in the air as the corners of her mouth twitched with a suppressed smile.

"Many apologies, _Miss Kagome,_" Koga teased, and Kagome giggled. "You didn't answer my question, though. What possessed you to go into town on your own? There could be dangerous types around."

"There could be dangerous types anywhere. You could be a dangerous type for all I know of you." She shrugged and turned her head, cautioning a peek at him out of the corner of her eye. One eyebrow was lifted, and his mouth tilted in an amused smile. She could feel her cheeks flushing, and she cleared her throat.

"Well, to answer your question, I'm the only one at home who is willing to go into town. It's about time to restock on our groceries. I know what we need, and I know how to spot a bargain." Koga hummed in understanding, and she added, "Beside that, I really enjoy being in the city. There just seem to be so many opportunities for fun, for greatness, for making a name for yourself." The fringe of hair on her forehead was tousled with the wind, and she reached up to smooth it back into place.

"Well, that is true. Cities are places where you can win or lose a fortune. You can be robbed blind or be precipitated under the wheels of a runaway carriage. You could get a raw deal in trade or be cornered and assaulted by a drunkard. There is forever good with the bad, Miss."

Kagome scoffed. "I had no idea you were such a philosopher, Mr. Allen." He said nothing in reply, and the rest of the journey into the Springs was made in companionable silence. By the time they reached Colorado Springs, the sun was at its zenith, warming Kagome's back despite the cool breeze in the air.

There were people hustling and bustling about. Fine ladies and dapper gentlemen stepped into carriages destined for the springs at Manitou to partake of the healing waters. Peddlers hawked their wares, and miners bustled past them on their way to the rail station to take them to Denver, where alcohol could be legally bought and sold.

Kagome steered the horse and cart west down Tejon Street toward Helm &amp; Co., where she usually bought groceries. Koga travelled alongside her on his horse, keeping an eye on their surroundings. When she bypassed the building, he turned to her. "I believe it is my duty to bring to your attention that you have passed the grocer, Miss."

She rolled her eyes playfully as she continued down Tejon, her eyes trained on the mountain that loomed over the city. "Many thanks. I do know where I'm going," she replied. She slowed the cart as it approached the Colorado Springs Opera House, just a couple blocks from the grocer. She let out a wistful sigh as she eyed the proud brick building.

"Opera? Culture is a marvelous thing, no doubt, but what place does _opera_ have in a place like this?" Koga pondered aloud.

Kagome threw her hands up with a smile. "I've always wanted to see a performance here, you see. The drama, the sopranos, the arias! Even though it may not be something I end up enjoying, I would like to see one all the same," she gushed. Koga puckered his lips and nodded. "Some day," she trailed off, and she could feel her face settling into a look of discomfort.

She knew that if she married Joseph Hopkins, she would be able to go to the opera and the theater nearly as often as she wished, and her mother would use that as leverage to try and marry the two off. She forced her face into something akin to a tight smile and directed the horse forward to the street corner where she could turn and circle around the block to get back to the grocer.

While Koga took care of their two horses outside, Kagome entered and placed her order for the dried goods at the wooden counter. When the laborer went around to the back to fill her order, she exited the building with a sigh and decided to ask Koga to help the man load the goods more quickly.

As the two men loaded the sacks and crates into the back of the wooden cart, she removed her hat to surreptitiously fix her bangs and the fluffy little ringlets that had fallen down around her ears. With one strong gust of wind, the hat flew from her fingers and tumbled along the ground before coming to a stop at a black pair of shoes. The man stooped down to pick up the dainty accessory, and when he made his face known to Kagome, her heart nearly stopped.

It was of course none other than Joseph Hopkins. She pasted a smile on her face as he strode up to her quickly, eyes alight. "Why, Miss Kagome! I had no idea you were in town. I was just here on some business on behalf of my father, since he's been feeling ill and all. Are you here by yourself?" His expression quickly turned from delighted to serious as Kagome took the hat from his hands.

She wasn't even given the opportunity to respond to him before he set in. "I can't believe a young lady like you was allowed to come all by herself to town! I simply cannot believe your mother let you go unaccompanied." Kagome nervously fingered the thin brim of her hat as he continued. "Your young brother or even that Michael fellow from your stables could have come along. The city is no place for a young lady to be unescorted. Please, let me accompany you back home, miss."

She shook her head and eyeballed the ground. "No, that's very kind of you, er, Joseph, but I'll have to decline. You see-"

"Wait just a second, Miss Kagome. I could not in good conscience let an innocent young woman like you wander the streets alone, unescorted if you will. I simply could not."

She hadn't realized Koga had stepped up beside her until he spoke up, and she nearly jumped. "Well, I beg your pardon, friend, but the young miss isn't unescorted." His thin lips were pressed into a straight line, and his stare was hard. Her suitor scoffed, and her palms started to sweat. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation.

"And who's your little friend? Aren't many half-breeds left in town. I don't believe I've seen him around," Hopkins declared, quirking his eyebrow. Kagome felt the color drain from her face at the term 'half-breed.' Joseph Hopkins may have been a happy-go-lucky, harmless, charming dunce, but she had never known him to be overtly racist. Perhaps he only meant it as a descriptor for Koga's obvious Native heritage. Part of her thought not, and it sent a none-too-pleasant shiver down her back. What would he do if he found out that she was a quarter Indian? She saw Koga stiffen.

"I recently was hired on at the Walker ranch. Koga Allen is the name. Actually, I do believe we encountered one another a few days ago." Joseph nodded slowly, clearly trying to think back to when he could possibly have encountered such a character as a ranch hand. Koga continued. "I was charged with escorting Miss Walker for the afternoon. One never knows what unfriendlies one might encounter." Hopkins's face flushed, and he stammered at the obvious implication that his presence was unwarranted and unwanted. A pang of guilt pinched her heart, so Kagome stepped in for some damage control.

"Thank you for the offer, Joseph. Truly, I do appreciate you looking out for me, but as you can see, I have Mr. Allen here with me. Even if that was not the case, I have other stops to make, and I would never wish to see you go out of your way for a silly little girl such as me." She gave him a small smile, and he scratched the back of his head in obvious embarrassment. Koga stood nearby, checking the straps on his horse's saddle.

"That being so, I thank you for your concern, and I hope to see you at this Sunday's services. Do have yourself a good day, Joseph," Kagome finished with a small curtsy. Hopkins made an effort in at least assisting her in getting up onto the cart, but she politely declined and climbed up and plopped down onto the seat.

Hopkins cleared his throat, and she felt bad for basically humiliating the poor guy. "Well, it seems you're all set, Miss Kagome. I'll see you and your family this Sunday, now. Give my regards to your mother." He tipped his hat at her, looked up at Koga, who had mounted his thoroughbred, with what appeared to be a mix of curiosity and petulant dislike, and walked off with his remaining dignity.

She readjusted her hat and started the cart down Tejon Street once more. In reality, she had lied when she told Hopkins that she had more shops to visit, but his presence and insistence had a terrifically grating effect upon her nerves. She and Koga said nothing until they were outside of the city and heading back toward the ranch.

"Maybe it would have been better if I'd stayed back to work," Koga casually remarked with a hint of a chuckle, and Kagome looked over at him in surprise.

"Good heavens, no. I admit, the situation became a bit tense for my liking, but you really helped me back there. That boy is honestly just too persistent for his own good. You're turning out to be a regular lifesaver at that," she replied jovially, earning a smirk from her "escort."

"Well, you wouldn't need saving so often if you didn't place yourself in hairy situations, Miss Kagome," he quipped. "One might think that you're partial to playing the damsel in distress." He chortled at the supposition, and she felt the color rise up her neck to redden her cheeks as she sputtered in embarrassment.

After they were a reasonable distance out of the city, Koga rode ahead to the ranch to start on his work for the day, while Kagome stayed in the slow-moving cart, enjoying the peace and quiet of the open air. She prayed to every saint she knew that Joseph Hopkins didn't come along in his carriage and accost her once more. It puzzled her that her mother was so adamant about her marrying that boy. Sure, he was kind to her and was set to inherit a decent amount of money at his father's passing. He was also childishly innocent and naïve, and the afternoon's events had demonstrated that he might even be adverse to the idea of associating with, let alone marrying, someone with Indian ancestry. After all, even her first name was a dead giveaway. In the time of Marys and Josephines, Margarets and Anns, she was a Kagome. It practically screamed Indian. She sighed. It was something that she would have to discuss with her mother, and hopefully the stubborn woman would listen to reason.

When she finally arrived back at the ranch, Sota helped her to unload the crates and burlap sacks and haul them into the pantry. Michael was of course still useless due to his broken collarbone, and Koga was somewhere out in the pasture with the horses. It was only a few hours past noon, so Kagome still had free time. She had arrived just in time for the afternoon meal, and the family sat down to a relaxed dinner.

After checking with her mother, she ran up the stairs and peeled off her city clothes, slipping into a white blouse and split riding skirt. She undid her nice coif and braided her hair before recoiling it onto her head in a more functional, plain bun.

After plodding down the creaking wooden stairs and listening to Grandpa gripe about the "impropriety" of her split riding skirt, she slipped on her boots and headed back outside. With a spring in her step, she headed to the barn to milk Peaches for the evening. All went smoothly, and her calf Dorothy even let Kagome pet her fuzzy little head. As usual, she left the pail of milk on the front porch and strode over to her little strawberry patch. The leaves were turned over and searched for bad spots or mites, and the tiny sprouts of weeds were yanked out of the soil and promptly scattered in the chicken pen, earning her a chorus of happy clucking from the hens. Without a second glance at the house, Kagome made her way to the stable.

Rosie nickered at her from his stall and brought his face to hers as she walked up with the saddle. He blew air out his nose, rustling Kagome's bangs. She giggled as she approached and strapped the saddle and equipment on. She led the dappled grey gelding out of the barn and into the pasture before climbing onto his back.

The horse seemed to intuitively sense her desire to fly, because as soon as she was seated comfortably on the saddle, he bolted much to her glee. The sun was glaring bright, sending the day's last strong rays out before its descent toward the horizon. She shut her eyes, wrapping her fingers tightly around the reins and letting the horse run where he pleased. The wind ripped through her bangs and tore at her clothes, making her puffy sleeves and the copious fabric of her riding skirt snap and flutter. She couldn't hear anything except the wind in her ears, and when the horse finally turned away from the bright sun, she opened her eyes. Rosie had slowed to a trot, and he gave a loud snuff as he made his way to the water trough.

Sota was just walking past after checking on the new foal when Kagome asked him to unsaddle her horse and put the tack away.

His face fell into a peeved grimace. "Why can't you do it?"

"Because it's my day off," she replied with a puckish grin as she began unfastening the straps to the saddle. She sent the grumbling Sota down to the tack shed with his arms full of the saddle and saddle blanket, and she patted Rosie's flank while he drank the glimmering water in the trough.

Clomping footsteps sounded behind her, and Koga rode up on his tall thoroughbred gelding, who tossed his head and pushed his nose into her tangled bangs. "You need a lift, miss?" Koga jested, and Kagome couldn't help the blush that crept up her neck. "Almost a grown woman, and you still blush enough to redden your face in a pink sunset. Ah, but that was unkind of me," he amended when he saw her eyebrows draw together. "If you're looking for speed, this ol' boy is your ticket. Hermes is by far the fastest horse I've ever ridden. C'mon, I've given plenty of kids rides before," he cajoled with a crooked smile as he patted the bay gelding's neck.

She stammered with a nervous smile while inwardly screaming at his alluding to her as a child. "N-no, I couldn't possibly!" He chuckled and held his hand out. Kagome chewed on her lip before a smile overtook her face, and she took his calloused hand. He gripped her hard and pulled her up onto the massive horse.

Her heart was racing, and she mentally cursed herself for not thinking properly. The closeness of their bodies was snug to say the least, as her body was flush against his. He placed the reins in her shaking hands, and his hands came up along her sides to hold onto the saddle horn.

He gave a quick kick and barked, "Hermes," and the horse took off at a dead sprint. Kagome nearly shrieked, but was quickly lost in the speed as the world blurred by. The horse raced across their large pasture: over the sloping, knobby hills, through the grasses and tall weeds, seemingly through the very fabric of the air itself. The wind howled in her ears, and she let out a little cry of delight. It felt as if she were riding a heartbeat- her own giddy, racing heartbeat that leapt and ran away into the wide open. The sun was setting, painting the sky in vibrant golds, oranges, and salmon pink as purple wisps of clouds floated upon the horizon, echoing the warmness in her breast.

A smile stretched across her face as they raced across the acres, and she reveled in the nervous pounding of her heart, the pounding of the horse's hooves upon the ground, and the feeling of her body being pressed against his. She could feel a whooping laugh reverberate from Koga's chest into her shoulders, and it got caught in her breast and bubbled up her throat in a giggle.

Her bangs were whipping around her face, and she was sure that her tight bun was loosened at best. She barked out a laugh as Hermes slowed to a trot, and they came up behind the barn. The two were chuckling together until they were interrupted by a shrill screech.

"Kagome!" the voice sounded. It was her mother. Kagome's eyes widened and she felt her cheeks redden further. She could see the silhouette of her mother up on the porch. Judging by her body posture, Kagome was in for a vicious verbal licking. Koga seemed to see this as well, because he gently took the reins from Kagome's hands and brought the horse to a stop. He quickly dismounted, and Kagome followed suit. She gave a small "eep" in surprise when Koga grabbed her waist from behind as she dismounted and set her gently upon the grass.

Despite her manic, racing thoughts and her hammering pulse, she couldn't wipe the grin from her face. The warm sunset tones washed over his face, tinting his skin in rich copper and cinnabar.

"Thank you, Mr. Allen," she said through the smile, and he nodded his head with a smirk of his own.

"Next time, we'll ride bareback," he said, and her eyebrows flew up in an attempt to meet her hairline.

"Bareback?! I've never-"

"KAGOME," her mother's voice sounded again, more insistent and notably more furious. Kagome winced as she turned back. Her mother was still standing on the porch, and she could see Sota poking his head out the front door.

"I'm so sorry-" she started, but he cut her off by raising a hand.

"No need to worry 'bout it. I'll round up the horses tonight and get 'em all set up in the stable. After all, it's your day off, Miss Kagome." He gave her a crooked smirk, and her face lit up in one last smile before she turned and sprinted toward the house, where she was ushered and swatted inside.


	5. Chapter 5

April 8, 1887

The night previous, Kagome was summarily sent to bed without supper, and not a word was said to her by any of her family. When she woke up in the morning, an entirely new butterfly had taken up residence in the pit of her gut- anxiety. She knew that her mother would still be livid after her incident with Koga, and although Kagome wanted to fight back, she knew that it was, for all intents and purposes, useless.

She came down in the morning to do her normal chores. Though it was before dawn, the cool air was muggy and humid. By the time she had finished milking the cow, she was distinctly uncomfortable. As the sun rose, she headed inside for breakfast.

When she got inside, she was met with a cold stare from her mother, who had served breakfast without her. Sota spared her a pitying glance as she sat to dig into her room-temperature food. The meal was taken in relative silence, apart from Grandpa's gummy mashing and grumbling. Her mother refused to even look at her, and Kagome felt a mixture of anger and guilt swirling around in her chest along with a definite sense of chastisement. Without a word, she left her clean dishes and trudged outside.

She dragged the wash basin up next to the house and grabbed a pail with a sigh. Koga was probably out in the pasture, Michael was undoubtedly loafing around the barn with his broken collarbone, and Josephine was almost certainly inside patching up Michael's endless flurry of holey trousers, socks, and shirts. All in all, it was a quiet, lonely day on the homestead, and Kagome felt the normally soothing, quiet open spaces stretching on forever. She felt as if she stood on the edge of a vast and empty plain with naught but the wind and shivering wheat stalks across the way as her company. With a huff of irritation, she shrugged off the fog of poetic woe and got back to work.

Several sloshing trips to the well later, the tub was filled with water, and Kagome went back inside to collect the sheets for their spring washing.

As she dragged and scrubbed the linens on the tin washboard, her mind wandered. Was Mother right? Is Joseph Hopkins truly a better match, Mr. Allen simply being a flight of fancy, a folly of youth? Her expression grew sour, and she mentally vented her frustrations at Hopkins's irritating existence, at Mother's disapproval, and at her own heart's fascination with the new ranch hand.

After the sheets were sufficiently mashed, squished, and wrung out, she hauled them to the clothesline and slung them over, watching them bob and sway in the light wind. Next, she trudged into the fenced-in garden to do some weeding. The bean stalks were creeping along nicely, and the squash were looking especially healthy. She left her little strawberry patch as is, and picked out the weeds from between her mother's cabbage heads while contemplating what exactly it was about Koga Allen that had so captured her fancy.

Was it his striking blue eyes or the rich dark hair peeking out from under his hat? Maybe it was the way his calloused hands wrapped neatly around her own… Or perhaps the way the corded muscles of his arms flexed as he tossed bales of hay.

Her tiny handful of weeds was paltry and dry, so she didn't even bother tossing it into the chicken pen, much to the disapproval of the hens. Her mind still wandered as she made her way up the front porch steps and into the house to work on reviving some of her holey old stockings. After entering the house, careful not to let the door slam behind her, she removed her boots and began toward the stairs to retrieve her socks for darning.

What she didn't expect was Mother to come wheeling around the corner. Kagome didn't have time to throw her hands up before her mother's palm came flying at her cheek, connecting with a loud smack that sent Kagome reeling backward with a screech.

Hand clapped to her stinging cheek, she looked at her mother, and she knew that her wide eyes and pursed lips betrayed her desire to strike back. Mother, however, looked beyond livid. Dark brown eyes were shadowed by dangerously low brows, and her chest heaved. Kagome knew better than to open her mouth, so she bridled her rage and waited for the impending enraged tirade. She watched the other woman's nostrils flare with each heavy breath.

"Do you ever _think_ before you act?" Her mother's voice was deadly quiet, and Kagome stood motionless in the hall, unsure whether to stand tall in defiance or cower in the wake of the venomous harangue. The elder woman screwed her eyes shut and balled her hands into fists by her side. "Do you _ever_ think? What will the neighbors say? What would the Hopkins family say when they find out you've been dallying with a filthy stable boy? Their son's love, passed around stable hands and cowboys like a camp follower."

Kagome opened her mouth to object- after all, there had been no romantic liaisons or dalliances between her and Koga- but she was cut off when her mother raised a small hand.

"What would your father say- God rest his soul- about this? Your father gave you _everything_, treated you like a normal girl and saw to it that everybody else did as well, despite the Indian blood. Before he died, he built a safe life for all of us so that we might be set up for a good future and the prospect of a good marriage for you. But not you. No, not you." She shook her head slowly as a disgusted scowl inched across her face.

"You would throw it all away for some half-breed laborer. A lifetime of work, of planning, of concern, and you would scorn it for a petty dalliance with a man who would use you and discard you like a common prostitute." Kagome's face burned with a combination of anger and shame, and she took a deep breath before closing her eyes.

"Mama, you must know that isn't my intention," Kagome murmured in as much of a placating tone as she could muster. "While I will say once again that marrying Joseph Hopkins holds very little appeal, I can tell you that there is nothing going on between Mr. Allen and I. He has never been anything less than professional and polite." She watched her mother's lips press into a thin, hard line, and the hall went dark for a moment as a fleeting cloud blotted out the sun. "Mr. Allen is only my friend, Mother. You've seen him enough to know that there's nothing about the way he looks at me that would indicate a desire for anything other than friendship." As she uttered the statement in all of its bald truth, Kagome felt her heart give a small, painful squeeze.

Her mother's shoulders sagged as she let out a heavy sigh. "That may be true, but I see a look in _your_ eyes that I am none too fond of." Kagome felt her cheeks heat under her mother's narrowed gaze. "You act as a wicked and willful child, and whatever I say to you, you always turn and do the opposite. Just remember to think." Her tone was still strict, but Kagome recognized it to be her way of reconciling differences for the time being. After all, a homestead divided ended up with animals running loose and chaos overrunning the house.

Seeing that the argument had come to its conclusion, Kagome started for the upstairs hallway once more to retrieve her clothes for darning, but her mother held up a hand. "Before you do the mending, I should like you to take this lunch out to your brother. He's been working like a dog to try and compensate for Michael's injury, so no doubt he will be hungry." Kagome nodded and slipped her feet back into her boots before retrieving the small wicker basket from the kitchen and carrying her cargo outside.

The sky was overcast and glum, and she looked pensively to the smudged clouds as she made her way to the barn where Sota was most likely to be working. She walked around the barn to the back where there was an old, round tree stump that everyone on the ranch made use of as a makeshift table. When she arrived, however, she saw that Josephine had already laid out a small picnic for Sota, who was happily munching on a slice of pork sandwiched between slabs of cornbread. His eyes flitted greedily down to the basket, but he looked back up at his sister, mumbling, "Sorry, Josie is already feeding me," around a mouthful of food.

She gave the teen, who was wolfing down his food like a starving animal, a sardonic glare before trudging away. The thought crossed her mind to eat the meal herself and save herself the trouble of preparing her own midday meal. However, a small treasonous part in the back of her mind spoke up. After all, nobody was looking… She could take it to Koga. The guy had to eat at some point, right?

She pursed her lips to squash a smile and set off for the front of the barn with a spring in her step that spoke of secretly and giddily breaking the rules. Breaking Mama's rules, the rules of propriety, who knows? It could have even been against the law, but she briskly shuffled into the barn all the same.

To her good luck, Koga was sitting inside, perched on an overturned bucket as he diligently cleaned the dirt from under his fingernails with his knife. When Kagome stepped into the light in the front of the barn, casting a shadow upon the floor before him, he looked up. At seeing her, his lips curved in a kind smile, and Kagome's stomach did an excited flop in reply.

"Well, Miss Kagome. Is that all for me?" he asked as he stood, towering over her as she approached. She nodded with a shy grin, knowing that a dark blush adorned her cheeks. "You're in luck, young lady, as I've just swept these floors. They're clean enough to eat off of, I reckon." Kagome shot him a scandalized look, but his face folded into a sly smirk. "Provided there's a blanket to put over it."

Kagome scoffed, rolling her eyes as a grin worked its way across her cheeks. "Is that your idea of a joke? You really need to work on your humor if that's the case." Koga gave a chuckle as he shielded his eyes from the flurry of straw bits that flew at his face as Kagome snapped the old flannel blanket open to set upon the ground. Kagome sent him a sly look. "You 'swept,' huh?" He simply shrugged and sat down upon the blanket, peeking into the basket.

As Kagome started to turn toward the house to get her own meal, Koga stopped her. "Hey! The meal is much appreciated and all, but could you find it in your heart to stay with me? Eating a good meal just isn't worth much if it's eaten all by one's lonesome. Company, even from a little girl, always makes food taste better."

"I'm not a little girl," was Kagome's immediate retort, and she nearly smacked her hand to her lips for how rude she sounded. All the same, she sat on the opposite edge of the blanket from him.

Koga's eyebrows flew up toward his hairline as his mouth crooked to the side in a half-grin. "Oh, is that so? Then what are you?" he replied to her.

"I-" Kagome sputtered, locking her fingers together in a cat's cradle of twisted digits. "I'm a young lady!" She nearly winced when she heard how unconvincing she sounded. It was pathetic. Here she was, sitting on the floor of a damned barn, trying to gain the affections of an older man who was not only a stranger for all intents and purposes, but an employee of the family business. Why she could kick herself for her impetuosity-

Koga cut into her thoughts. "I suppose that's so, Miss Kagome. That you are." She felt herself go completely rigid, and her wide eyes locked onto his as he took the first bite out of his sandwich. "S'good," he managed to get out around the half-chewed lump of food in his cheek, and Kagome gave a bashful smile in return.

She fumbled with the edge of the blanket as a soft, chilly breeze swept into the barn, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. They sat together while Koga finished his midday meal in comfortable silence, and when he finished, he tipped his hat at her with a small grin before heading back to work. Kagome gathered up the blanket and plate and then walked back to the house with a perky smile stretched across her cheeks. She hastily prepared her own meal and wolfed it down before brushing past Mama to retrieve her socks from upstairs.

The rest of the day, Kagome sat in the main room, mindlessly darning socks and repairing minor rips in her clothes while she wrapped herself in the titillated cloud swirling around her mind. Koga had admitted that he did not see her as a child! At least not anymore, that is. She sat with a lazy smirk while her fingers mechanically worked at mending the clothes. She never gave pause as to why she felt that way about the seemingly simple, harmless words he had said to her or whether it was even right for her to react, even mentally, in such a manner. Nothing mattered except that she was seen as a young woman, and she was beginning to feel like one, too.

At dinner, she ate the meal serenely and had the peace of mind that her mother had not seen her take the food to Koga instead of Sota. When she climbed into bed at the end of the day, she did so with a warm snugness in her heart, and she fell asleep with a spark of confidence alight in her mind.

The next day, Kagome snuck another small picnic out to Koga. She hadn't even made it out the door before she saw Mama glowering at her from the hall. This time, of course, she was inevitably caught by her mother, who looked like she would completely blow her top but for the swift damage control that Kagome enacted.

"What sort of employers would we be if we didn't even bother to feed our stay-on workers? He's not received any wages that I can see, so the poor man should be temporarily compensated." While Mama gave Kagome a scowl that would scare the old floral paper off the walls, Kagome knew she had free license to keep her lunch appointments with her new friend. As a bonus, it gave her a peculiar sort of pride to know that she was feeding him and fulfilling a wifely sort of duty. She knew it was silly and far-fetched to think of it in that way, but she still cradled the notion inside her heart with a sort of childish glee.

Kagome resolved that every day, just past noon, she would bring out a small meal to the barn, where Koga would wait for her. Not only was it a good deed, but it also gave her more of an opportunity to get to know their new employee better. Apart from the basics he had supplied at dinner the first day they had all met him, she knew nothing of his past, his likes and dislikes, or even his age.

That day, she worked up enough nerve to ask him about his age. Since there was no truly graceful way to ask such a personal question, she simply dove in as he dug through the small basket to get to the food inside.

"Ehm, Mr. Allen-"

"Koga," he interjected as he uncovered a small hunk of bread. "The name is Koga. Mr. Allen makes me sound like I'm about ten years older than I already am."

She gave an inner cheer as he did all the work and cleared the way for her questioning. "Koga," she began, feeling the strange way his name sounded in her mouth, "about that. I was just wondering, um, how old you were." He looked quizzically at her, and she rapidly backpedaled. "N-not that it's my business or that I wish to pry. Of course, that's not my intention. I was just curious-"

He laughed as he spread some of the freshly churned butter on his slice of bread. "You're lucky I am such a mild-mannered fellow. A model citizen, really," he said, trying unsuccessfully to keep the smile from his face at the joking statement. "One day, your inquisitive nature will most certainly get the best of you, Miss. As to your question, I am twenty four years old, nearly twenty five now that I think on it."

"Oh? When is your birthday?" Kagome enthusiastically asked as she rolled a piece of straw between her fingers.

"The first of August. And what of you, Miss?"

Kagome felt her face flush and she looked down at her lap as her cheeks lifted in a bashful grin. "Me, I just turned sixteen a few weeks prior to your arrival." Koga nodded in acknowledgement and speedily ate his lunch. Oddly enough, he made himself quite scarce after he finished, leaving Kagome to load the basket back up by herself. Just as she put the hastily folded blanket into the basket, she looked up to see Sota standing in front of her. Judging by his pursed lips and upturned nose, she was most likely in trouble.

She simply sauntered past him, trying her best to look aloof and detached. Sota, however, did not fall for the act, and leaped in front of her.

"You know Mama doesn't want you hanging around the help, Kagome," he lectured, and his eyebrows drew down over his dark eyes.

Kagome shrugged. "I was simply feeding him. Mama knows of this arrangement, so I see no problem with it." She tried to shoulder past him, but he just walked next to her.

"Yes, I know _that_, but don't think I don't know your little game here. 'Oh, how old are you sir? Heehee.'" Sota did his best impression of his sister, speaking in a falsetto while clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes. Kagome leveled a glare at him that would wither a field, but he persisted. "Honestly, Kagome, you're a terrible sneak. You're sweet on him, and everyone can tell." Kagome felt her face flush, and she cast her eyes down in embarrassment as she sped up her pace.

"You can buy my silence, though," Sota murmured, and Kagome turned to cast him a questioning look. "Eggs. Every day until he leaves." He folded his arms over his chest and tucked his chin in.

Kagome groaned. "Anything but getting the eggs, Sota. You know I hate going in that smelly old coop, and those chickens have it in for me! I would swear it on the Bible; they want me dead," she whined. He shook his head with a sly smirk.

"Eggs or nothing." Kagome scoffed, but acquiesced all the same to his ultimatum. She went about the rest of her chores that day knowing that he had something to hold over her head. Of course, he most likely would never act upon it unless something drastic came up, so she was assured of his silence for the most part. Still, at the same time it was humiliating for her little brother to be pressing and backing her into a corner over something so silly.

By the end of the night when she crawled into bed, she was at peace with the situation. Sota would never rat on her unless he needed to or she did something horrible to him. Aside from that, it's not like she was doing anything rash or unladylike. She was simply making a friend. All in all, her mind was settled and tranquil as she drifted off to sleep. That is, until she remembered that tomorrow was Sunday, and she would be forced to endure Joseph Hopkins's presence at church. In an instant, her calm mood transformed into irritation, and she fell asleep with a seed of agitation in her mind.


	6. Chapter 6

April 11, 1886

Kagome awoke with a groan. It was still dark, and the air had a chilly bite, so she hurried outside to do her morning chores as quickly as possible. She was cramped and bent over like a hunchbacked wretch in the chicken coop, and of course the chickens felt tetchy and belligerent while she tried to collect the eggs in her apron. As soon as she escaped the small structure, Kagome sucked in a deep breath of cool, fresh air, which was a marked difference from the sharp, foul smell inside the insidious den of poultry horrors. After carefully carrying the eggs over to the barn, she laid them in the bottom of one of the pails before going over to milk Peaches.

As soon as she deposited the fresh milk and eggs in the kitchen, she hurried back upstairs to change into her nicer Sunday clothes. She could hear Sota squawking about his lost shoe and Mama replying impatiently as she did her best at wrestling Grandpa into his clothing. Kagome suppressed a soft giggle as Grandpa's hollering and sour attitude as Mama presumably was pulling his arms through the nice jacket that made his neck itchy, or so he claimed every Sunday. She draped her shawl over her shoulders while descending the stairs and laced up her dress boots as the rest of her family congregated in the living room to don their own shoes.

As she pulled on her doeskin gloves, she peeked around the curtains and of course saw Joseph Hopkins driving a wooden wagon up. He stopped at the front gate, and Kagome jumped back from the window, pursing her lips with a small grumble. "Mama, Mr. Hopkins is here," she called, and Mama left Grandpa to lean on Sota as she bustled out the door to meet the neighbor boy. Kagome and Sota each took a side on Grandpa and helped him through the door. Mama was already in the front of the wagon chattering up a storm to Joseph, who gave a radiant smile when he saw Kagome exit the front door of the house. She smiled in response and hoped it didn't look too much like the cringe she wanted to show.

She and Sota helped Grandpa up to sit in the back of the cart, which already held the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins. After getting her grandfather settled in, Kagome sat down near the back of the cart, and as Joseph smacked the reins against his horses' hides, she saw Koga exit the barn across the property. He tipped his hat at her, and she risked a small wave of her gloved hand, which was thankfully unnoticed as most parties were engaged in conversation.

The ride into town was boring, cloudy, and uneventful, and they pulled up in front of St. Ann's as the crowd began to funnel inside. Joseph bent down to deposit a few coins in the palm of a stable boy, who stood by the horses as the occupants of the cart hopped off. After helping his aging parents down the wooden stairs at the back of the wagon, he walked with a spring in his step toward Kagome, who was standing near her mother and trying her hardest to disappear.

"Well, good morning, Miss Kagome," he greeted far too cheerfully. Kagome nodded her head and murmured a "good morning" in response. He held out his arm, and she stared at it in abject despair before taking the proffered limb and stepping into the small church. She and Joseph stepped up and seated themselves on a pew midway between the front and back rows. As soon as they were seated, Kagome disentangled her arm from his and folded her hands in her lap, waiting for the service to begin. Her mother was seated to her right and Joseph to her left, so not only was she trapped, but she was being watched like a hawk by Mama. As such, she listened politely as Joseph prattled on and on about meaningless trifles.

"Did you know that someone is talking about buying up that property along Kiowa Street? There's talk of putting in a bigger, nicer church there, you see." He was turned toward her, slowly pressing into her personal space.

"Hm, is that so?" Kagome tried to feign interest, but in her mind, she was imagining herself being squashed by Peaches, trampled by a runaway horse and pecked to death by the moody hens, and each of those outcomes seemed more pleasant than being in her present tedious position.

In a stroke of luck, she was granted reprieve when one of his friends sat next to him and struck up a conversation. Breathing a small sigh of relief, she leaned to the right to speak with Mama.

"So tell me, Mama. Truly, why is it that you have such vehement dislike for our new employee?"

Her mother inhaled sharply before replying. "Kagome, this is hardly the time to be stirring up trouble," she whispered under her breath.

"It's only a simple question, Mother, and I meant no harm by it. I just want to know why is all."

Mama sighed. "I do not dislike him. He seems a calm sort and completes his work as assigned. It is his lineage and status that I dislike when taken in the context of your flirtations with him."

Kagome felt her mouth turn down in a small frown. "Once more, there is nothing between us. For another thing, what does his blood have to do with anything? You yourself are a half breed, and Father was able to love you all the same despite him being a white man."

Her mother turned away with tightly pursed lips and looked at her daughter from the corner of her eye. "That was entirely different, and you know it. I will hear no more of this today," she stiffly murmured as Mass began.

She sat through the service, ever conscious of Joseph's presence at her left. He was sitting so close to her that he could feel the heat radiating from his leg and arm. After what seemed like an eternity, it was time to return home. As they exited the church, Mama pulled Kagome aside.

"Why don't you take young Joseph with you to the grocer? I've made a list of things for you to pick up for dinner tonight since the Hopkins family will be joining us." She slipped a small scrap of paper into Kagome's hand and hurried back over to the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins and Sota, gesturing to Joseph to walk Kagome to the store.

"My, it's quite a ways to Helm &amp; Co., yes? We'd best get to hurrying, Miss," he gabbed before outright grabbing her hand and walking away from the church. Kagome could hear her mother gasp in delight behind her and fought the urge to drag her hand down her burning face. Joseph's hand was warm through her gloves, and he was kind enough to let her walk near the buildings and away from the muddy streets.

"So, what d'ya have all on the list to be purchasing?"

"Oh, not much. Just some smoked salmon and a sack of cornmeal. Mama's making smoky chowder and cornbread for dinner by the looks of it. Probably some sort of soup from the tomatoes you were kind enough to bring over a few days go. I'm not sure of dessert just yet. You are coming tonight with your parents?" It killed her inside a bit to feign interest in the prospects of his appearance at dinner, but she knew it was necessary in order to keep up conversation with him.

"Oh, yes! Our cook is adept at her craft, but your mother most certainly has something special about her cooking," he complimented with a smile. A cool breeze ruffled his dark auburn hair.

Kagome chuckled and didn't have the heart to tell him that in the overwhelming majority of Sunday dinners, it was Josephine who prepared most of the meal rather than her mother. "Maybe I'll purchase some candy to give to Sota in a two weeks' time once Lent is over," she mused, and she was intensely aware that Joseph was running his thumb over her knuckles while he beamed like an idiot. She picked up the pace, for the sooner she got to the grocer's, the sooner she would have a reason to snatch her hand back from his affectionate clutches.

After what seemed like half an age, the pair had traversed the blocks and arrived at the front of Helm &amp; Co. While the store itself was closed due to it being Sunday, P.C. Helm was at his business every other Sunday to take the day to tidy up the store, balance the books, and the like. Kagome's father and Mr. Helm had been in the same company in the American Civil War, and so as a favor to the Walker family, he allowed them to occasionally come in the back door and place small orders.

Some minutes later, Joseph exited the store with a burlap sack of cornmeal slung over his left shoulder followed by Kagome, who carried a tin of smoked fish and a small bag of hard candies that was promptly tucked into a pocket in the folds of her dress. On the walk back to St. Ann's Joseph settled for looping his arm with hers, and while it still made her tense and nervous, it was nowhere near as embarrassing and uncomfortable as having to hold his hand.

When they got back to the church, the Hopkins' wagon was standing out in front, and Sota was helping Grandpa get comfortable in the back. Joseph heaved the cornmeal onto the platform and pushed it back before offering Kagome his hand so she could climb up. With that, the party started back out to the country. Mama was smiling a catlike grin, knowing that Kagome and Joseph had spent time together. Kagome resented it entirely, but there was naught to be done about the situation or her mother's attitude toward it.

As soon as the wagon came to the front of the Walker ranch, everyone climbed out of the wagon and retreated indoors. Sota carried the cornmeal and tin of fish into the kitchen before changing and heading outside to help with the work around the property, while Kagome was kept inside to entertain the guests with Mama. Every so once in a while, Mama would go into the kitchen to lend some aid to Josephine in cooking the large Sunday meal, and in those interims, Kagome was expected to hold her own, whether it be in conversation, jest, or even light gossip with the neighbors.

Conversation was slow and awkward at best, and it eventually devolved into Joseph gushing to Kagome about their family wheat farm and the benefits of this breed of grain over that, and which types are hardier in the winter versus the summer. His father was slouched on the old sofa next to Grandpa, and together they looked like two distinctly grumpy, bloated frogs stuffed into suits. After a little while, Joseph's mother simply got up and went to the kitchen with Mama, so Kagome was essentially left alone with Joseph while the old men snoozed. Joseph walked along the living room alternately putting his hands in and out of his pockets and making awkward compliments on the state of the floral wallpaper and windowpanes, and all Kagome could do is smile and agree uncomfortably. She almost felt bad for him. Almost.

Her salvation came in the form of a steaming pot of chowder and a dirt-smudged boy racing through the house to get at it.

Mama called everyone to the kitchen table for supper, and Sota dashed back outside to retrieve Michael and Koga while Kagome helped Gramps and the elder Mr. Hopkins into the other room. After getting the old men settled into their seats, Kagome sat down at the table to realize that Koga was nowhere to be seen.

"Should I retrieve Mr. Allen, Mother?"

Kagome could see her mother's hand tighten around the handle of the ladle as she filled the bowls, but she quickly plastered on a small smile for the company. "Of course, dear. I would imagine he's been hard at work all day, so it would be nice for him to have a good hot meal." Her words spoke of generosity and good will, but her eyes said without words, "Watch where you tread, girl." Kagome ducked her head and padded out to the porch.

Luckily, Koga was walking out of the barn, and Kagome waved him over from the porch as she leaned on the white chipped railing. He jogged down the slope toward her, pushing his hat firmly onto his head in the face of a gust of wind.

"Why don't you come inside for supper? Everybody is invited, Mr. Allen, and that includes you," she called out as he neared the porch.

"I reckon I can eat later. Wouldn't want to make things uncomfortable with your mother and all," he replied, brushing his hands against his pants.

"You caught onto that, huh?" she asked with a grimace. When he shrugged in response, she scoffed. "Well, regardless of that situation, you are still invited inside, and when I say invited, I mean ordered." She planted her hands on her hips in mock authority, and he rolled his eyes but mounted the porch steps all the same.

When he came inside, he immediately took off his hat, and Kagome placed his boots with everyone else's shoes before leading him to the dinner table. The food was already dished out, and the candles were burning in the pewter candlesticks that Mama got out for special occasions. Kagome resumed her seat at the table, and Koga bowed his head.

"Many apologies for my tardiness, Ma'am," he said clearly, and Mama gave him a curt nod, signaling that he take his seat. The meal passed with much conversation. Sota was speaking animatedly with Koga, no doubt interrogating him on his upbringing and Native heritage. Both Mama and Mrs. Hopkins were feeding and wiping up their respective wards, and Josephine and Michael stood to eat together, being that there weren't enough chairs at the table to seat everyone. That left, of course, Joseph and Kagome to talk. Luckily for her, he didn't seem too keen on keeping up conversation apart from sprinkling in comments on how rich the smoked salmon chowder was and how lovely the cornbread tasted, especially with the homemade butter. She gave him a quizzical look and continued to languidly spoon food into her mouth.

Her eyes met Koga's across the table just as Joseph launched into a story of when he and his father went to New England and ate a strange but delicious chowder with fresh clams. As he exclaimed how the dish changed his entire outlook on soups, waving his spoon with gusto, Koga's lips flattened into a suppressed smile while Sota gabbed next to him. Kagome nodded assent to whatever it was the young Hopkins was blathering about while trying to keep her face schooled. When the table was cleared and maple custard was served for dessert, she almost thought Joseph would fly out of his seat with the amount of enthusiasm he was radiating.

Just as she thought she would meet her end- grueling death by small talk-, Michael took his leave and retreated back outside to finish work around the ranch, and Josephine cleared the dishes. Mama steered everyone into the main room where they were to entertain the guests for a little while longer. Koga attempted to leave with Michael, but Kagome gave him her most pitiful look when nobody was looking. It gave her a secret thrill when he followed the crowd into the other room rather than withdrawing to the barn.

Everyone took seats, whether it be in chairs, the sofa, or on the rug in front of the dusty fireplace. Sota broke out his worn deck of playing cards and attempted his latest card trick. When the cards fell out of his sleeve, his face turned bright red, but Mrs. Hopkins pretended not to see and feigned shock and delight when she was "tricked" by his clever "sleight of hand." Inevitably, the sexes separated, and Grandpa instructed Sota to retrieve his good bottle of brandy while the men discussed the state of the market for horses, wheat, and whatever else it was that men spoke of.

Kagome was relegated to the corner where Mama and Mrs. Hopkins were lying in wait for her. She knew that her mother was constantly wheedling and sweet talking the Hopkins family, and Mrs. Hopkins seemed to be approving of the suit, despite the fact that her son had still not formally asked for Kagome's hand in marriage. The two matrons went on about the latest gossip concerning the wealthier families living in Colorado Springs, leaving Kagome to sit and nod woodenly at their conversation. She was staring at the small ridge of dust lining the fireplace scoop when Mrs. Hopkins cleared her throat.

"Your mother was just telling me last week that you are a student of the violin? Your father played if I remember correctly." Her sweet, silvery voice lilted, and Kagome felt herself go pale.

"Um, ehm, yes, ma'am, though it would be imposturous of me to claim the title of student. I'm not all so proficient in my playing as to claim talent," she replied in a meek voice. Mentally, she prayed that she would not be called upon to play. Normally, she enjoyed playing her violin, but performing in front of Joseph sent an unpleasant chilliness through her gut, which was also churning at the prospect of having to play in front of Koga.

"Oh, nonsense, dear! I simply must hear you play," the elder woman exclaimed, effectively drawing the whole room's attention to their corner.

"Kagome, dear, go and fetch your violin. You can play something before we walk these kind folks out," her mother commanded. It of course was disguised in a sheath of a soft request. Kagome resigned herself to her fate and bounded upstairs to retrieve her battered old instrument. When she reappeared back down stairs, everyone in the room had rearranged so as to watch her. Koga sat in front of the fireplace with one arm slung over a bent knee.

She stepped over to the middle of the room and was ashamed to feel her knees and calves quivering. Koga looked up at her, and she took a deep breath and let it out before turning herself to face him and closing her eyes.

With her next shuddering breath, she set her bow to the strings and let the music happen. Though it was only a few minutes, it felt like she played for hours, her breath hanging on each sweet note of the song as her fingers trembled on the neck. She faltered a bit once, causing her eyes to fly open while she adjusted her fingers to correct the mistake. Her heart hammered in embarrassment from the miniscule error, but Koga's eyes met hers for a brief second. She could see no judgement, nor any trace of scorn or disappointment. His silent rapt attention bolstered her spirit, and she forced herself to avert her eyes as the music sung out from the fiddle. Her eyes fluttered shut as she drew the last stanzas out across the strings, and when she coaxed out the final note, the room sounded around her with polite applause. Her face lifted into a nervous, jittery smile, and she gave a little curtsy before bustling back upstairs to put the fiddle away.

When she reappeared, Koga had apparently gone outside, and the two families were congregated near the front door and saying their farewells. They all filed out the door and the Walkers waved as Joseph drove his family down the road in the wagon. Sota patted Kagome on the shoulder as she dropped into the old rocking chair on the porch.

"You go on inside without me, Mama. I'll be in in a bit," Kagome said as she looked across the way at the early sunset's golden rays sprayed across the wheat fields. Sota escorted their mother back inside, and Kagome gave a small sigh as a light breeze played over the tops of the wheat, causing them to give off a light, warm rustling sound. She closed her eyes and rocked in the chair despite the slight chill in the air.

She was startled out of her reverie by Koga's voice. "Amazing Grace is one of my favorite hymns. You did it well," he said from below the porch. Her cheeks warmed as she sat up to look at him over the balcony. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, leaning most of his weight on one leg. She stood up from the creaking chair.

"I thank you, Mr.- er, Koga," she replied sincerely, and he snorted when she stumbled over her words. An almost awkward silence fell over them.

"So, your father played that fiddle there as well I hear?"

"Oh. Yes, he played. He did a little bit of everything really. A little bit of animal husbandry, a little bit of carpentry, a little bit of music," she chuckled. "He taught me some of the rudiments of the fiddle before he died, but since then I have taught myself. I'm not terribly good at playing. It's more of a hobby than a skill," she blurted, trying to fill the stillness.

"Well good or bad, I hope it would not be exceedingly presumptuous of me to wish to hear you play more some time," Koga said quietly as he looked up to meet her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat, and she felt the desire to clap her hands to her chest to calm the throbbing pulse.

Her head felt like it was swimming in a strange cocktail of giddy nausea and joyous glee, and she felt the overwhelming and unladylike desire to hop over the railing and throw herself in his arms, provided of course he didn't shove her away. Instead, she clasped her hands low and stepped forward to the balcony to reply.

"I would like that very much."

* * *

**A/N: Did you guys know that the violin is the same thing as a fiddle?! Is that common knowledge? I had absolutely no idea until I came across it on the internet a few hours ago. Whoa.**


	7. Chapter 7

Thursday, April 15, 1886

Kagome seldom saw Koga over the succeeding four days excepting the few minutes she took each day to bring him his lunch. That's not to say that that small amount of time was fruitless, however. She learned that he had seen the very first showing of Buffalo Bill's Wild West in Omaha and had seen the beginnings of construction of the world's tallest building in Chicago. Just before his father had died twelve years previous, they had taken the train from Nebraska all the way out to San Francisco Bay and saw the last of the great herds of buffalo on the plains. Yesterday, he told her that the last city he'd been in was Denver and that for all intents and purposes, it would be wise for him to avoid it completely. Naturally, that had captured her attentions, but he was obstinate about keeping the reason a secret. She vowed to try to wheedle the story out of him one way or another.

She ruminated on that admission as she milked the cow that cool morning and let her imagination run wild. Was he on the run from a rascally card player who'd thought to steal his money? Or maybe it was that he himself was an outlaw, though she chuckled at that thought. Tough and wiry he may be, but he just didn't seem to be of the thieving criminal type. She swallowed the hard lump that formed in her throat when she realized that it may be because of a woman. A long-lost love, a courtship gone sour, a… wife…

Kagome had pursed her lips tight without realizing it as she lugged the milk pail up to the house. Koga couldn't be married. It just wasn't possible. For one thing, he didn't have a ring on his finger, not that she had been looking or anything. Secondly, he didn't seem to be of a melancholy disposition that one might expect from a man separated from his love by distance or quarrel. Thirdly, he just seemed… alone. She sensed a sort of loneliness in him, and whether or not it was from prejudice against his race, a tragic past, or the death of a loved one, she didn't know.

Michael was tight-lipped when she asked him about Koga, but Kagome doubted he knew anything to begin with. Koga didn't seem the type to blab about his personal affairs. If Michael knew nothing, then Josephine wouldn't know anything either.

Kagome absentmindedly spooned her breakfast into her mouth. Gramps was griping about his arthritis and Sota chattered with gusto about the coyote he saw earlier in the morning, but Kagome's mind was elsewhere, going on flights of fancy where Koga was a wanted criminal or the suitor of a well-bred aristocrat's daughter. After excusing herself from the table, she took a small bowl along with the cream Mama had separated and headed to the front porch. She poured a little bit into the bowl for the cat and dumped the rest into the wooden churn before setting to work.

While she churned the butter on the porch, she watched Koga walk past, and when he tipped his hat politely she imagined those hard, calloused fingers perhaps curling into fists and pummeling some drunkard in a Denver saloon before fleeing from the law. She immediately scoffed, but a little voice in the back of her head told her that something like that was entirely possible. After all, he'd only been working on their ranch for a short time, so nobody, herself included, had gotten time to get to know the real Koga. For all she knew, he could have the temper and patience of a rattlesnake.

She was unaware her mother was speaking until she snapped her fingers in front of Kagome's face, causing her to startle and nearly knock over the butter churn.

"Were you even listening to a word I was saying?" Mama's mouth was curved down in a tight-lipped frown.

"Sorry, Mama. What was it you said?" She let go of the plunger, the cream having long been churned into butter.

Mama's hand dropped. "I _said_ that the weather is warming up enough that the horses can stay outside at night rather than be rounded up and stuck in the barn. Go and tell your brother and the help."

Kagome gave a silent nod and bounded off of the porch. She followed the sound of repeated hammering to the front of the barn where Sota was banging away at a plank on the wagon that had stubbornly swelled and refused to stay in place.

"Mama says we can start leaving the horses out at night rather than round them all up into the barn. The weather will be turning nice soon, so they'll be okay," Kagome told him.

"Good to know. Say, have you seen the cat lately?" he replied without looking up from his work, and Kagome's mouth fell into a frown.

"Well, no. I set out some cream just earlier, so I would guess the porch is where we'd find her. Why do you ask?"

Sota gave an irritated sigh and flung the hammer to the ground as he stood up straight. "I haven't seen the darned thing anywhere lately. Maybe she's gone off and found a tom, maybe she's sleeping under the porch, or maybe she fell off the face of the earth. Who knows. All I know's Mama will have a right fit if we end up with mice or vermin lurking around."

Kagome hummed her agreement before turning to walk away. "I'll poke around and see if I can't find her hiding somewhere," she called over her shoulder as Sota resumed his attempt at beating the errant plank of wood into submission.

As she headed begrudgingly for the chicken coop, Kagome racked her brain. When was the last time she had actually seen the cat? It had been at least three days, as she last remembered spotting the cat lurking, as usual, around the hen house in the morning. Ducking her head into the small structure, she was greeted with the typical pecking and fussing the chickens gave her.

An apron full of eggs and several henpecked fingers later, Kagome was rushing away from the ill-tempered birds and up to the house. Koga was walking past the porch as she approached and she stopped him without thinking, the eggs still cradled in her uplifted apron.

"Mr. Allen! Sota is having me ask around: have you seen the cat? Because now that I think of it, I haven't seen her in a few days." She held her cheeks aloft with a hopeful smile.

He shook his head, and her face fell. "No, can't say as I have. I'll keep an eye out, though. Maybe a coyote got to her," he suggested.

Her heart stuttered in her chest. The cat was a spitting, bony ball of teeth, claws, and fur, but she was such a fixture in their everyday life that Kagome didn't want to think of her being hurt, or worse, killed and eaten by some prowling beast.

The day passed by slowly as the sun wheeled its way across the crisp, cool sky. Sota was in a foul mood after having to rip apart the wooden cart before reconstructing it, all due to one stubborn plank. Mama was still prickly toward Kagome about the issue of Koga, and Michael was griping and sulking to Josephine because he was cooped up in his house and unable to do anything other than the most basic of tasks due to his broken collarbone.

As evening set in, Kagome leaned against the back of the house, stretching her arms above her head as Mama and Josephine finished preparing supper. The sky blushed, and Kagome traced the crimson streaks of clouds to their terminus in the west, reaching up to the golden disc of the sun that hovered just behind the indigo of Pike's Peak and the surrounding mountains stretching across the skyline. The atmosphere progressively turned pink, then vermilion, then purple as the sun descended beyond the mountains, which still held a golden ridge along the uppermost edges. Soon, the homestead fell into shadow under the flushed purple sky that continued to darken.

Sota tapped on her shoulder, and she jumped. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, instead walking back around the house so they could go inside to eat supper. The meal was eaten without issue aside from Gramps grumbling about this and that around mouthfuls of food. In fact, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the entire day, save the distinct lack of farm cat.

After supper, Kagome lugged a bucket with the leftover scraps out to the barn where she dumped it into the trough for their two pigs. Peaches was calm and still, which made the evening milking go even smoother than usual. As she walked back to the house with the milk, Kagome wondered at the stillness on the homestead. All was quiet, and everyone was inside their respective abode as the chilly wind whispered over the tops of the wheat across the way. Kagome shivered as the breeze flitted across the back of her neck, raising her hairs on end, and she turned around. The fireplace was burning in Michael's cabin, and she could see a faint, flickering lantern light coming from the small window of the tack shed where Koga slept. Everyone was accounted for, but she couldn't shake the strange, hunted feeling that lurked in the back of her mind.

The milk pail was left in the kitchen to set into cream, and Kagome climbed the stairs to her small bedroom. Within a few minutes, she had donned her woolen sleep gown and brushed her hair before slipping under the quilted blanket. Darkness shrouded her room, and despite needing to get up before dawn, her mind refused to succumb to slumber. All was silent in the house save for Gramps's snoring and the wind whistling through small chinks in the walls.

She drifted between sleep and awake for an indeterminate amount of time, and it was just as she approached the precipice of sleep that a loud, piercing noise jolted her out of bed. One of the horses was screaming. Her heart hammered as she sat straight up in bed. The horse screamed again, so she bounded down the stairs, the horse's repeated panicked noises propelling her shoeless feet outside. She leapt down the front porch steps, bare feet pounding across the rough, frosty ground. Just as she sprinted past the chicken coop, a gunshot rang out. Kagome froze. Her breath sent wisps of fog into the cold air. The moon was hidden behind dark clouds, so she was surrounded by thick, inky darkness. The horse was stomping its hooves in the silence somewhere up in the pasture, and Kagome shivered as a frigid gust of wind passed through her gown to chill her skin which rose up in gooseflesh.

She cast her eyes about in the darkness, trying to pinpoint the cause of the horse's panic though she knew it to probably be in vain. The gravel crunched a few feet away from her, and she spun around quickly, hands curled into fists. A cold hand closed upon her shoulder from behind, and she nearly shrieked as she turned wildly. By the faint, muted light the moon cast from behind the heavy cloud cover, she was able to barely make out Koga's face. Judging by his drawn expression, something was wrong. Looking down, the dull light illuminated the Colt revolver he held in his hand.

"What are you doing out here?" he whispered fiercely, cold fingers wrapping tightly around her bicep.

"I- I-," she stuttered, and he shook his head, dragging her back toward the front porch. When she realized where he was taking her, she dug her heels into the ground literally, wrenching her arm out of his grip. "No!" she growled. "I'm already out here, and something is going on."

Koga's lips pressed together so tightly that they disappeared from view and exhaled through his nose. She glared at him. "Go on in and grab a lantern." His gaze fell to her feet. "And some shoes," he added with what she guess was supposed to be an attempt at a chuckle. Her eyebrow rose in question, and he put his hands up. "If you hurry, I'll wait here for you." Without further prompting, Kagome dashed up the steps and in the front door, not caring that it slammed behind her. She stuck her feet into her work boots and snatched the matches up off of the entryway table. Her fingers fumbled, but she was finally able to strike a flame that she shakily stuck into the lantern, lighting the small wick.

True to his word, Koga was waiting outside when she came clomping outside in her untied shoes. The two of them set out in the night with only the small lantern to light their way. She could hear the horse still stamping and snorting, though the screams had thankfully stopped.

When they approached the paddock, Kagome immediately spotted about a hundred yards up the right side was a clearly distressed horse. Koga sharply inhaled through his nose as he took the lantern from her hands and walked ahead of her toward the horse. As they drew closer, the horse grew more and more agitated, and Kagome felt the blood drain from her face when she recognized it to be Kitty, the mare with the new foal. Her dark feet stomped on the ground, and she thrashed her head as Kagome drew near, her sharp exhalations blowing out of her nose in jets of steam. Koga tried to get close to where he thought the foal was, but Kitty reared up and nearly kicked him. Kagome shrieked and dashed out of the pasture and picked her way across the darkness to the tack shed to retrieve a lead rope.

She sprinted back to where she saw the lantern burning on the ground and found Koga attempting to talk Kitty down. The mare was still antsy and agitated, but seemed to be finished kicking and screaming. With as delicate a touch as if he were touching a priceless jewel, he slipped the lead over her head.

"What about the foal?" Kagome asked under her breath, just loud enough that he could hear her.

"I'll worry about that," he replied, pressing the rope into Kagome's half-frozen, trembling fingers. "You take her into a stall." As quickly as she was able, she did as he commanded without even stopping to think that he was in no place to make demands of her. Kitty stubbornly resisted, but with some coaxing and patience, she was eased into a stall.

When Kagome tried to return to Koga, he called out, "Why don't you just go on inside, Miss Kagome?" By the small, flickering light of the lantern, she saw him crouching on the ground with his back to her. With complete disregard to what he had said, Kagome approached. By the small light the lantern in front of him gave off, she could see the grass glistening, but it was a strange glistening. It wasn't the crisp, clear shine of dew or rain, but was a dark slick. Koga's form was dark and silhouetted to her, but by the flickering light, she could see his hand rise up in front of his face. It was covered in that same dark slick. Her boots crunched upon the frozen dew, and when she drew close enough to see, she couldn't stop her involuntary gasp.

Laying upon the ground, its guts half spilled, was Kitty's little foal. Its haunch had four deep scratches, and the intestines that had fallen from the slit in his abdomen were lightly steaming in the cold air. The grass was dark with blood.

"Lord Almighty, what could have done this?" Kagome whispered under her breath as Koga wiped his hand on a clean patch of grass before standing with the lantern in hand. She turned to him, and his mouth was pressed into a grim line. "Could it have been a wolf?" she asked him.

"We would have heard wolves," he replied. "Besides that, those there aren't wolf scratches."

Before she could ask him what could have made those claw marks, they were approached from both sides by lanterns. Michael and Josephine hurried out of their cabin, Michael carrying an old shotgun with his good arm and Josephine carrying a candle. From the other side, Sota sprinted from the house. Both parties arrived at the scene simultaneously, and Michael cried out, "By God, Josie, there's been a cougar attacked the colt!"

"A cougar?!" Kagome nearly shrieked. As people moved into the area up against the Front Range, most of the wildlife had been pushed back into the mountains, but occasionally predators came down around settlements to hunt if game was scarce.

"Better question would be what was that mare doing out here with the newborn colt?" Michael spat, and Kagome turned when Sota made a choked noise.

"I didn't even think," he started, and his voice broke. Michael pursed his lips and shook his head with a shrug before leading Josie back to their cabin. Sota continued, "I didn't even think to put them in a stall for the night. Mama said to leave the horses out, and the thought didn't cross my mind to keep 'em in." His lower lip trembled, and Kagome could tell that he was trying to hold in tears. After all, it was a matter of a young man's pride.

"You stay here, young Mr. Walker, while I take your sister back up to the house right quick before we drag him over to the fence for the coyotes." Kagome protested weakly, but he started toward the house at a brisk pace and she had no choice but to follow him or be left in the darkness. She tossed one last look over her shoulder at her little brother whose face had gone chalky before she jogged to catch up to Koga. The walk was quick and silent, and when they reached the porch, Koga tipped his hat at her. "Get some sleep, Miss Kagome," he murmured just loud enough that she could hear him.

Sleep did not come easy for Kagome that night.

* * *

**Whew! It's been a long time since I've updated this baby. Unfortunately for my readers, updates will continue to be slow because I was accepted into grad school. I'm majoring (again) in history, so there is a lot of reading involved (we're talking 600+ pages per week) not to mention the paper writing. I have no intentions of abandoning this story or any other of my major ones, so you guys will have to bear with me as I try to muddle through all of this. I do know where the next chapter is going so I should have no trouble in writing it, but it's a matter of finding time. I hope you guys understand. :]**


	8. Chapter 8

Friday, April 16, 1886

In the morning, Kagome awoke in the darkness just before dawn, as was the usual. She milked the cow and went about her chores as she did every morning, but she did so this time with a burdened mind. Somewhere out beyond their fence, Koga and Sota had dragged the foal's body after she retired to bed. She had heard Sota collapse on his bed next to hers with a heavy sigh just before she fell asleep. There was no doubt that the coyotes had already started in on the carcass, and as soon as the sun came up, the buzzards were sure to start circling. Part of her wished they wouldn't because seeing vultures not only confirmed the colt's death but also indicated just where the body had been deposited. There was something about knowing exactly where the dead horse laid that unsettled Kagome's stomach.

When she ducked into the chicken coop, the hens of course were sassy and irritable, but Kagome just didn't have the energy or gusto to react when they nipped at her fingers. After brushing the dirt off of the eggs, she headed inside to deposit them on the counter just as Mama was serving breakfast.

The thought of food made Kagome cringe. While she was in a nice warm house eating, that poor foal was laying somewhere, prone and being picked apart by animals. While she didn't have much of an appetite, Kagome knew she had to eat in order to keep her energy up for the day's work ahead, so she mechanically spooned food in her mouth.

"So Josephine told me about that black mare's little colt this morning," Mama started, and Kagome fought off the urge to sigh.

"Yeah, Koga said it looked like a cougar attacked it," she replied flatly before taking a bite of bread.

"Well maybe if he'd had a shred of common sense, he would have put those two in for the night and none of this would have happened." Her mother's voice was cold and hard, and Kagome cast wide eyes over to her brother, whose fault it was that the horse was killed. He averted his eyes and fixed them down on the plate in front of him.

"Sota-"

Her mother cut in. "No, it's bad enough that the _halfbreed_," she spat the epithet like a mouthful of venom, "left two vulnerable animals out at night, but he made your brother help him haul the carcass out for the buzzards."

Kagome exploded out of her chair. "There you go with the 'halfbreed' again. You're no different, Mother. What makes you so different from him?!" she shrieked.

"Kagome," Sota started, laying his hand upon her forearm, but she quickly jerked the limb back.

"Don't you even speak to me," she sneered. It was unfair, she admitted, to be so cruel to him, but she was thoroughly disappointed with his cowardice. Instead of admitting his guilt, he pawned it off on Koga who was already the bearer of their mother's every invective these days. Sota's lips pursed and he left the table without finishing his breakfast, slamming the front door behind him.

"That boy cost us money leaving those horses out at night! Before we know it, he'll be-"

Kagome interrupted, seizing the chance to throw a barb and prove her mother wrong. "Mr. Allen didn't cost us nothing! We didn't pay for that foal, remember? That gambling man only sold us the mare, so don't you even dare to pin this on him! I told Sota that you said to keep the horses out at night. How was I to know that he would be a half-wit and not put the mare and foal away?!"

Mama shot up out of her chair now, pointing her fork at Kagome's face for emphasis. Her voice was low, like the growl of a cat before it leapt into a fight. "Don't you _dare_ try to pin the blame on your brother, young lady." Kagome's fingers gripped the edge of the table in a white-knuckled vice, and when she scoffed with a disgusted tilt of her lip, her mother's voice rose to a shout. "You are FORBIDDEN from seeing him, do you hear me? I will chain you to this table if need be, but so help me Lord, if I find you scurrying off to see that, that, thing again, I'll pack you off to the East so fast you won't know what hit you."

"It'll be awful hard to never see him since he WORKS HERE!" Kagome yelled before turning on her heel and stomping out the door, forcing herself to take deep calming breaths through her nose. She tramped over to the garden on the side of her house and, with ruthless deliberateness, plucked every little weed and sprout that peeked out from between the growing plants and tossed them at the chicken pen, uncaring if they made it over the wire fence and into the waiting hens' mouths.

After wandering around the ranch for a couple of hours doing little errands and chores here and there, Kagome looked up toward the road and saw two horses trotting down the lane. One she immediately identified as Sota astride one of their mounts. The other, she was dismayed to discover, was Joseph Hopkins. Kagome did the only thing she could at that point: pretend like she didn't see them and made a swift beeline to the tack shed where she hoped Koga would give her shelter until the neighbor left. She prayed to every angel in the firmament that Hopkins hadn't seen her slip around behind the chicken coop and speed across to the barn and tack shed.

Stepping behind the coop, however, the plan fell to shambles. The stench invaded her nostrils, and she almost leapt back. In a furry, misshapen pile half hidden by grass was what was left of the cat's body. She gave a small shriek, causing the hens to startle and cluck disapprovingly. Sota dismounted his horse and sprinted across the yard to her, followed by Hopkins.

"What is it?!" her brother wheezed as he bent over to place his hands on his knees before being repelled by the offensive smell. His eyes caught up with his nose, and Kagome could almost see her brother's skin crawl. "The cat…"

For whatever reason, Hopkins decided that it was a good time to interject. "Miss Kagome, your brother here has told me about your problem with the cougar. They like to hide their kills like this, you know," he stated matter-of-factly. It took all of Kagome's restraint to not pin him down with a withering glare, so she settled on a vacant expression. Ever clueless, he reached for her hand as he continued, grasping her fingers in his own impassioned grip. "You don't need to worry your little head over this, though, Miss Kagome. I've brought over our newest rifle, and I'll take care of this problem for you tonight."

She gently extracted her hand from his grip with a placating smile that she hoped wasn't the grimace she truly felt. There was no real way of getting rid of him. Moron he may be, but another able body was useful in trying to track and trap the mountain lion. "Thank you, Mr. Hop- eh, Joseph," she corrected herself. "I trust Sota will take you inside and fill you in on the rest of the particulars while I finish up some things, and we'll have lunch." Before Hopkins or Sota could protest that it was indeed her job as a woman to welcome and entertain company, she had turned and jogged up toward the large tack shed.

Her luck would have it that Koga was just walking out as she approached the door. Without thinking, she sidestepped him, then turned and yanked him back through the doorway by his shirt. As she reached to shut the door behind him, her eyes grew wide. Good Lord, he must think her a beastly, rude girl for yanking him so suddenly back inside. Either that, or he thought she was a tramp with a penchant for violence. Would he tell Mother? What if he got the wrong idea? Even worse, what if he was so horrified that he left their ranch for employment elsewhere?

As Kagome ran through the worried loop of thoughts, Koga's eyebrows rose so high that somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought they'd disappear into his hairline. "You mind telling me what we're doing in here, Miss Kagome?" he asked her, his voice slow and hesitant with a mix of caution and curiosity.

Heat flooded her face, and she nearly thought she'd die of embarrassment. She couldn't very well tell him that she was hiding from Joseph Hopkins. After all, that would make her look like a coward and a tease-

"You're hiding from that boy across the way, aren't you?" he asked with a sly lilt to his voice, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. His brows sank back down to rest over dark eyes filled with amusement.

Her neck grew hot as it flushed redder in the dim light filtering through the cloudy window. "N-no!" she stammered while her mind scrambled to think up a good excuse for corporeally dragging him around. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I just wished to inform you that I won't be able to bring you lunch today as Mr. Hopkins has decided to pay us a visit. If you ask Josephine, she should be able to whip something up for you." Kagome mentally applauded her calm demeanor.

His left eyebrow lilted upward in a question. "…so you found the need to drag me in here by my shirt, slam the door shut behind you, and tell me that?" Kagome grimaced, backing up until her calves hit the wooden ladder up to the loft.

She sighed. "No. I mean it is true; you'll have to talk to Josie if you want lunch, but yes. I was hiding from him." Koga chuckled, and her lips drew together in a huff. "Well if he was constantly chasing you around like a stupid goose, you'd want to kick him, too!"

Koga chuckled before cracking the door open to see if the coast was clear. After all, it wouldn't do to have everyone seeing her emerge from his rooms. Her intentions were innocent enough, but it would look pretty bad to a spectator. He waved her over with his hand, and she approached.

"Are you gonna try and catch that cougar tonight?" she asked. He nodded an affirmation. "Well," she continued, "if I sneak out tonight, can I help?" He turned, clearly meaning to ask her something like "Are you out of your mind," but she cut him off. "Actually, never mind. I'm coming anyway regardless of what you say." Her lips curled into a smug grin before she stepped out the door and headed back to the house, leaving a stupefied but amused Koga in her wake.

For the rest of the day, Kagome was mentally kicking herself for saying something so bold. What if it made Koga think that she was an impertinent girl? What if he was annoyed? Perhaps the biggest issue was the fact that she had spoken without thinking and was, in reality, petrified of being outside at night while a cougar was on the prowl, protected by her favorite ranch hand or no. She, however, had said it and her pride wouldn't let her back down, so she was bound and determined to swallow her cowardice and better sense and meet him outside just after supper.

Later, the family gathered around the table with Joseph Hopkins as their guest, and once again Kagome was forced to play the ever-attentive young lady when all that she wanted was to disappear. Her gut churned: partly from the sickening feeling she was increasingly feeling whenever Hopkins was around, partly from excitement at sneaking out to hunt the cougar, and partly from a great, roiling fear for her own survival.

She realized she had been staring into space when Hopkins's voice startled her. "I brought my brand new Winchester," he addressed Gramps as head of the household, "and I've made it my mission to eliminate this threat to your property." The color drained from her face when she realized he not only meant the land and horses, but also her family. He viewed her as _property_. It was, of course, to be expected of the times, but it bothered her that such a "well-intentioned," "kind" young man wouldn't have a more liberal view on women and marriage. Though it was a little unfair, she added another tally on her mental chalkboard of Hopkins's offenses.

"Fantastic," Mama said after dabbing her mouth with her napkin. "Joseph, dear, why don't you bring Sota out with you? It would do for you two boys to bond." Kagome glanced at Sota out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had blanched; he had thought that Mama had figured out that the whole debacle with the foal was indeed his fault. Luckily for him, such wasn't the case and Mama was simply wheedling and trying to find ways to work Hopkins into the family and attach Kagome at his side.

After bringing the slop out to the pigs and jogging back to the house in the fading light, she walked back in the door to see Hopkins and Sota standing in the sitting room, rifles in hand. Their father's solid old Henry rifle clearly weighed heavy in Sota's white-knuckled hands while Hopkins prattled on, his shiny new Winchester cradled in his arm and reflecting the light of the lantern at their side.

Kagome made a big show of retiring for the evening and forced herself to give a gentle grin when Hopkins took her hand in his and kissed the backs of her knuckles as she stood on the stairs. She could almost feel her mother's approving stare burning holes into the side of her head. As soon as she could, she bounded up the stairs and laid down in bed, bunching the quilt up around her chin just in case Mama decided to look in and discover that Kagome hadn't changed into her nightgown. After a while, she heard Mama help Gramps to climb up the stairs, and she waited a while until she could hear her grandfather snoring loudly. As quiet as she could manage, she sat up and swung her feet over the bed and onto the creaking floor.

While Kagome crept downstairs, she wrapped her green shawl around her shoulders and pulled some old gloves onto her hands. Her feet slipped into her shoes without a sound, and despite the excited and nervous pounding of her heart, nobody came down the stairs as she tied the laces. She didn't dare light a candle or lantern for fear of Sota, Hopkins, or, heaven forbid, Mama, seeing her sneaking out like a little idiot.

It took her a long moment that seemed like an eternity to get the front door closed behind her without making it creak or groan in protest. She let a sigh of relief escape her lips in a warm puff when she finally turned around. The fact did occur to her that while she did tell Koga that she would accompany him on this cougar hunt, neither of them had specified where. She cautiously checked the coasts before darting over to the tack shed. With a quick yank, the door jerked open with only a small clang in protest that was, to Kagome's relief, mostly drowned out by the sound of a gust of wind. She placed her feet on the wooden ladder up to the small loft where Koga slept, and her cheeks flushed to realize that she was basically invading his bedroom. Her intentions were completely pure, of course, but it sent a thrill through her veins to be in such a precarious situation.

Koga was not up in the loft, so she leaned over his mattress to open the small window. With no small amount of twisting, turning, and careful maneuvering, she was able to worm her way out the window and onto the narrow jut of roof that stat just outside the window. She scooted to her right so her back rested against the wood rather than the cold glass, drew her knees to her chest to avoid falling off the ledge, and waited.

The breeze was cold and whistled through her clothes, and she twisted her fingers in the ends of her shawl to keep them warm while curling her toes up in her boots. Just faintly, she could see the wisps of her breath against the blue-black backdrop of the night sky. All was quiet, and she cast her eyes around in what she knew to probably be a futile attempt at catching the cougar. Upon looking to her left, she saw Koga's amused face poking out of the window, and she stifled a scream.

"Any reason in particular you're sitting outside of my bedroom window?" he asked as he withdrew back into the loft of the tack shed to take his hat in hand.

"Well, I _do_ live here," Kagome bit back drily. "And Sota and I have been coming up here for as long as I can remember." She watched him crawl through the window with about as much grace as a seven-legged dog, all the while holding his hat out in front of him so as not to smash it. With a huff, he finally situated himself and flipped the hat back on his head, pulling out his revolver to rest in his lap. The ajar window rested between the two, rattling slightly in the wind.

"That may be, but I'd imagine your mama don't much appreciate a young lady such as yourself climbing up roofs, trees, and who knows what else," he replied, and she could see a grin creep across his mouth. "And you're lucky I found you up here," he added, "but I just happened to look up and saw a big ball of cloth crammed in my window, flapping in the wind and cussing." Kagome felt her face grow hot and said a silent thanks that the darkness concealed her blushing mortification.

Another light gust of wind blew, and Kagome was unable to suppress the shiver that crept down her spine and the huff that blew the air from her lungs. "Er," he began, "well, Miss Kagome, maybe you should go inside if you're cold, I mean-"

Kagome cut him off with a shake of her head, and she was simultaneously disappointed and horrified; disappointed that he didn't scoot over to offer his warmth, and horrified that she was craving such improper closeness with his person. "Well now that we're up here," she whispered. "are you gonna tell me why you can't go back to Denver?"

He let out a heavy sigh. "You just don't quit, do you?" When Kagome shook her head with an eager "no," he relented. "Well, about nine months ago, I was up 'round Denver after being on a cattle drive up to the railway." Kagome's thoughts came to a screeching halt. Nine months… she knew one thing that involved nine months, and it involved a whole lot of screeching and responsibility. With what seemed like a mammoth effort, she kept her cool as he continued. "I had been doing pretty well for myself, working odd jobs here and there. Then a few months back, I was playing cards with this other cowboy- we all called him 'dog breath' 'cause- well, specifics aren't important. Anyway, we was playing cards, and I caught him cheating. Well, one thing led to another, some words was exchanged, and I was summarily discharged. They didn't want a half-breed hanging 'round anyway. If I ever came back, they said they'd do a lot worse than tan my hide," Koga chuckled. Kagome was aghast.

"You can't go back… over a card game?"

"Well, that's just on the surface. It boils down to him being mad and using my being half redskin as a means to be rid of me." The bitter undertone to his voice made Kagome's stomach turn. He was chased out of town because he was part Indian, same as she… but her heart nearly leapt from her chest.

"So it wasn't a woman?" She almost cringed at how perky and hopeful her voice sounded. Koga snorted, reaching up to scratch his jaw.

"Um, no," he said with a laugh, and a titter bubbled up through Kagome's lips just as an spine-chilling scream rent the air. It was a sound like a screeching woman combined with the grating of metal on concrete. Kagome's feet scrabbled against the roof as she tried to crawl away in fright, but Koga's right arm shot out and pressed her against the wall, holding her in place. Normally Kagome would be shocked at the placement of his hand, being just above her breasts, but her eyes trained on the cougar down on the ground about fifty yards ahead of them, prowling along the dirt and gravel road in front of the yard.

Kagome froze, drawing quick, shallow breaths as Koga retracted his hand, palming and cocking the Colt resting in his lap. The cougar's eyes reflected the small moonlight in luminous disks that slowly prowled toward them. From the corner of her eye, she could just see Sota and Joseph Hopkins approaching from the left, guns resting in their arms. They didn't see the cougar, which crouched in place, its head swiveling toward the two oblivious boys. Kagome nearly gasped in horror as the cat started to slink through the grass toward her brother, and Koga slowly brought the gun up and aimed.

She could see the cat coil up, ready to spring as the unaware pair drew nearer. A horrible, piercing shriek sounded in the dark silence, and the cougar pounced as Kagome jumped to her feet without thinking, realizing that the terrible noise was coming from her own throat. She lost her footing and slipped, and Koga dove toward her, pinning her to the narrow space of roof as a loud, cracking boom echoed across the homestead. His gun slid off the wood and fell to the ground, and Kagome screeched under him as he tried to hold onto both her and the window ledge to keep them both from falling.

She squirmed, flailing her arms as Koga tried to haul her upright, and she flipped over onto her stomach and slid down the roof. Her fingers jarred as she caught the ledge of the eave, and she dangled in the air for a second before she let go, falling several feet to the ground. Her ankles cracked painfully, but she got to her feet and sprinted into the dark, Koga hot on her heels after crawling back through the window.

Hopkins was standing stock still as Kagome approached, bawling and babbling for her brother. Sota was lying on the ground, covered in a spray of blood and clutching the old Henry rifle to his chest with the cougar sprawled across his legs. Kagome grabbed under his arms and yanked, pulling him out from under the cat before slipping and falling on her back. Sota slowly sat up, and Kagome noticed through her teary eyes that the cougar was unmoving. Sota turned to her with eyes so wide she could see the whites.

It occurred to her that her brother had shot the animal just as it sprung. The rifle fell from his shaking hands, and Kagome buried her face in her hands, crying with relief. Koga stood panting, next to the terror-frozen Hopkins before walking to the siblings. Kagome lifted her head, sniffling and wiping her eyes with the corner of the shawl before wrapping it around her stunned brother's shoulders. She saw Koga's hand hover for but a second above her head before he seemed to think better of it and set to the work of dragging the corpse away.

Kagome helped Sota to his feet just as Michael came on to the scene, and she found that she hadn't the energy to address him. She just wrapped her ashen brother up in her arms and tried to get him to the house.

That, however, was changed when Mama came charging out the door with her shawl clutched at her throat and a lantern in hand. Her hair was loose and fluffed in the wind as she demanded, "What in the world happened?"

"It's my fault," Sota spoke up as tears started to run down his cheeks. Mama approached as he continued in a stream of half coherent words. "It's my fault that the colt died yesterday because I forgot to tell Koga and Michael and just figured that they'd do it so I didn't think to check on it and so it died and it's all my fault and a cougar killed it, but I got him, Mama, I shot 'im with Father's old gun, and I'm sorry because it's all my fault." He broke down in heaving sobs as Mama pursed her lips. Hopkins approached silently, his shiny, unused rifle perched on his shoulder.

"I think it best if you head on home, dear," Mama said to Hopkins, who still had a baffled expression on his face. He nodded woodenly, and went alone to fetch his horse while Mama put her hand on her boy's back and guided him inside. Kagome stood outside to catch her breath, leaning on the chipped porch railing with fingers hooked around the wood like claws. Her hair was frazzled and floating in the breeze as it came loose from her braid, and her ankles were hot with pain, most likely being sprained from the jarring impact. Hopkins spared her but one look before mounting his horse and galloping down the road.

The crunch of dirt signified that Koga was approaching, and she cast her eyes to the right to see him walking across the yard. He came to a stop in front of her, and she looked down from the stoop into his face.

"Thank you for being there," she murmured, though she wasn't quite sure why she said it. After all, he hadn't really done much in the end. She just felt the need to thank him.

He approached with hesitation, and Kagome was reminded fleetingly of her father reading aloud the balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet just a week before he died, save that Kagome wasn't a fair maiden, and Koga was not her love no matter how ardently she wished it so. "…are you alright, Miss Kagome?" he asked cautiously, his hands jammed into his pockets.

She let out a heavy breath, her shoulders sagging as her head lolled forward. She could feel her lumpy braid slide over her shoulder to dangle over the railing. "Yeah, I guess I am. My mind doesn't know where to go. I mean, I'm so relieved, but I'm scared, and-"

"You don't need to be scared," he murmured back at her, and she looked up to see him tip his hat before walking back to the tack shed to catch a few hours of sleep. When she turned around, she saw her mother lingering in the doorway with the lantern. Her face did not look angry or upset. She just looked tired as she held the door open for Kagome to come inside.

* * *

I know, I know, it's about time I updated this thing. And these past few chapters are probably RIFE with spelling/grammar errors, but I'm entirely too lazy to proof-read and I have no beta. Sorry but not sorry, but still a little bit sorry.

So what do you guys think? Do you think Kagome stands a chance, or will she be perpetually thwarted by Mama/Hopkins/crazy wild animals? haha Seriously though, thank you to everyone who has stayed with me on this story, and endless thanks to all of my reviewers out there. You guys are the best!

Updating will continue to be slow, and I have midterm exams coming up in a month, complete with 3 extra books to read and 3 papers on top of my normal obscene amount of reading. Plus, the muse for my other fic (_Blood is the New Black_) has been whispering incessantly in my ear, so I might work on another chapter for that. Rest assured good folks, I won't abandon Strawberry Summer. I've grown far too attached to these characters to just leave them XD


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